Welcome to the original Learning 2.0 Program. This site was created to support PLCMC's Learning 2.0 Program; a discovery learning program designed to encourage staff to explore new technologies and reward them for doing 23 Things. Since the program's launched, it has fostered Learning 2.0 programs all over the world. If you are interested in duplicating or modifying this program for your organization, please see Program Notes on About Page and contact Helene Blowers for information.

Learning 2.0 Message

Welcome to Learning 2.0, an online self-discovery program that encourages the exploration of web 2.0 tools and new technologies, specifically 23 Things.

This program was originally developed and launched for the staff at the Public Library of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County in August 2006 with a total of 352 PLCMC participants creating blogs and many additional guests joining in. Since the program's launch, the exercises here have helped other library systems develop programs of their own, the first being the Yarra Plenty Regional Library system in Melbourne, Australia.

If you're interested in duplicating this program for your own staff, please feel free to do so under Creative Commons. And although PLCMC staff have already completed this program, this site will remain up for your use.

Additionally, you might find some of my program notes on the About page helpful. To date, over 750 libraries and organizations have duplicated the program worldwide in at least 15 documented languages. Listing of Learning 2.0 Libraries.


Special thanks to Minerva Shelved for creating a Google map of L2 around the World


If you have questions about duplicating this program, please feel free to contact me. This is a learning program that is freely available to anyone & I'd be happy to help anyway I can.

Helene Blowers
helene.blowers@gmail.com

05/15/2007 Update: For those that wish to continue discovering & learning more then just merely 23 things, check out Learning 2.1: Explore ...Discover...Play!

# Friday, January 12, 2007 . Posted by HeleneB | 10 comments

PLCMC Learning 2.0 Finale ( or "the winner is ...")

Wow! What a journey the last 3 months have been since we kicked off Learning 2.0 on August 3rd. For those 362 staff member that joined in the adventure, I send you my thanks for demonstrating that PLCMC has a truly remarkable staff of lifelong learners. And to those of you who followed along from around the world (even without the incentives) I salute you for taking up this challenge and for offering the inspiration and support to many others also in the quest for new knowledge. In total 222 staff members completed the discovery learning quest and the program has been picked up by libraries both nationally and world wide --- Hello Yarra Plenty Regional and Missouri River Regional Library systems. :)


Technology is changing so fast these days that it's important for libraries (and staff members) to keep in the know about these new web 2.0 tools since so many of these technologies provide new channels for information to travel across and new opportunities for libraries to reach out and enhance services. You don't have to be experts with these new tools and websites, but as those of you that have completed Learning 2.0 have learned, a little bit of knowledge and exposure can go a long way. :)

Over the course of the last few weeks many staff ( & other libraries) have asked me if the 23 Things from the Learning 2.0 will still be available after the program's completion so that staff can go back and explore these websites and technologies more. The answer is YES ! There are no plans to take these discovery exercises down and in fact so many staff have asked that PLCMC continue this type of learning journey that there are plans now underway to modify the Learning 2.0 blog into an ongoing information and discovery resource that anyone can benefit from. And for those of you that already have an RSS feed set up for Learning 2.0 in your Bloglines account, you're already set to go. :)


As for the "24th Thing" in this Learning 2.0 program? Well that's really up to you. With so many new discoveries still to be explored, I hope you'll continue your discovery journey and plan for the next 224. But if you're looking for suggestions, I'll point you back in the direction from which the original inspiration for this program came from ... a little article by Stephen Abram called 43 Things I (or You) might want to do this year (Information Outlook - Feb 2006). It's great place to start. :)


To this end, I know you're all wondering who the L2 finale laptop winner is? And to answer your question in true Learning 2.0 fashion, here is a YouTube video with the answer ...




Thank you to everyone who participated or supported this learning endeavor. It's true, PLCMC does indeed have the very best library staff in the country and as Learning 2.0 also demonstrated, it's full of lifelong learners too! :)

Helene


# Wednesday, November 01, 2006 . Posted by HeleneB | 5 comments

11 days and counting ...

Lori over at Learning Express offers some great tips and support ideas for those still working through their 23 Things. I actually coudn't have offered any better advice. So go on over and read Lori's words of encouragement and be sure to remember her last bulleted item ...

"Have fun! If you are not having fun you are missing the point. Life is too short to not have fun!"

... and with determination and luck, you'll be spraying your own graffiti message and celebrating like Ruddy Rocky Pinnacle. :)

# Friday, October 20, 2006 . Posted by HeleneB | 0 comments

MP3 player


Matt shows off his new player
Originally uploaded by hblowers.

# Tuesday, October 17, 2006 . Posted by HeleneB | 1 comments

MP3 Players!!!!

Wow! MP3 players galore arrived today and it was great fun distributing these to the first 117 staff members who completed the Learning 2.0 program.

So what did we end up getting for staff? Sandisk 1 gb (yes 1 gb) MP3 players with FM radio & voice recorder. :) The IT department did a fantastic job finding a closeout deal that allowed us to get a great player with lots of storage ... and best of all it works with Windows media player DRM and downloadable audio. :)

Anyway, the first MP3 players went out today and I was pleased to be able to deliver several of them in person. With 19 days left in the program, there’s plenty of room for staff to finish the program and grab one of these beauties for themselves.

# Thursday, October 12, 2006 . Posted by HeleneB | 2 comments

#23 Is this really the end? Or just the beginning ...

Listen to this podcast [1:17]-->powered by ODEO


Wow! Congratulations!! You’ve reached the 23rd thing. Be sure to give yourself a pat on the back for completing the program. Your reward for completing this journey before the Oct 31st deadline is a useful and handy MP3. But before sending this off you, I ask for one last discovery post.

For your last and final exercise for this program please reflect on your learning journey and post a few thoughts. Here are some questions to prompt you if you're drawing a blank ...

  • What were your favorite discoveries or exercises on this learning journey?
  • How has this program assisted or affected your lifelong learning goals?
  • Were there any take-aways or unexpected outcomes from this program that surprised you?
  • What could we do differently to improve upon this program’s format or concept?

    And last but not least…

  • If we offered another discovery program like this in the future, would you again chose to participate?

In closing, I want to thank each and every one of you for joining me on this journey. My greatest hope is that this not the end of our learning journey together as a staff and a system, but rather it’s just the start of something amazing …

Thank you, Helene



UPDATE: Interested in other Learning 2.0 participants final thoughts? I've tagged most in Del.icio.us.


# Wednesday, September 27, 2006 . Posted by HeleneB | 8 comments

#22 Audiobooks (or "The end is in sight ")

Listen to this podcast [1:21]-->powered by ODEO

With your new MP3 player right around the corner, it’s time to take a look around NetLibrary and downloadable eAudiobooks.

Downloadable eAudiobooks is a service provided by Recorded Books which is available through the library’s subscription to NetLibrary.

To establish a NetLibrary account, you must first create your acocunt through the PLCMC website. But once you have a Netlibrary user name and password (I know, I know … you’re tired of user names and passwords, but I promise this is the last user account for this program that you’ll have to create) you can access NetLibrary directly and bypass the PLCMC site.

For this discovery exercise, you merely need to familiarize yourself a bit with the structure of NetLibrary's Downloadable eAudiobooks site and get an idea of the types of titles you can find here. Take a look around and locate a few titles of interest. That MP3 player is right around the corner and once you have it, you’ll definitely have a reason to try out this popular library service.

Discovery Resources:

Introduction to Netlibrary* - this 12 minute tutorial covers the downloading process for Netlibrary audiobooks using Windows Media Player 10. (be patient, it may take a few minutes to upload this for viewing)

Discovery Exercise:

  1. Establish a Netlibrary account for yourself by accessing Netlibrary through the PLCMC site. Note: Your not a member of the PLCMC staff or don’t have a PLCMC library card, full access to NetLibrary may not be available.
  2. Once you have an account created, you can access NetLibrary directly at http://netlibrary.com
  3. Click on the eAudiobooks link and explore some of the 1300 + titles.
  4. Create a blog post about your findings. Did you locate a title that you might want to try out and download once you have your player?


OPTIONAL: Try downloading a title from the NetLibrary. You don’t have to have a portable player to listen to audiobooks, you can also listen to it from a computer.

* Tutorial created by Mary Kyle (PLCMC) using free screencasting software Wink.

# Sunday, September 24, 2006 . Posted by HeleneB | 3 comments

#21 Podcasts, Smodcasts!

Listen to this podcast [2:17]-->powered by ODEO

The word podcast is used to refer to a non-musical audio or video broadcast that is distributed over the Internet. What differentiates a podcast from regular streaming audio or video is that the delivery method for podcasts is often done automatically through RSS.

In 2005, "podcast" was named the "word of the year" by New Oxford American Dictionary and with the growth of podcasting over the last 24 months, it's easy to see why.

Podcasts take many forms, from short 1-10 minutes commentaries (like the ones used in this Learning 2.0 program) to much longer in person interviews or panel group discussions. There’s a podcast out there for just about every interest area and the best part about this technology is that you don’t have to have an iPod or a MP3 player to access them. Since podcasts use the MP3 file format, a popular compressed format for audio files, you really just need a PC (or portal device) with headphones or a speaker.

iTunes, the free downloadable application created by Apple is the directory finding service most associated with podcasts, but if you don’t have iTunes installed there are still plenty of options.

For this discovery exercise participants are asked to take a look at some popular podcast directory tools. Do some exploring on your own and locate a podcast that is of interest to you. Once found, you can easily pull the RSS feed into your Bloglines account as well, so that when new casts become available you’ll be automatically notified of their existence.

Discovery Resources:


Discovery Exercise:

  1. Take a look at one or two of the podcast directories listed and see if you can find a podcast that interests you. See if you can find some interesting library related podcasts here like book review podcasts or library news.
  2. Add the RSS feed for a podcast to your Bloglines account
  3. Create a blog post about your discovery process. Did you find anything useful here?

Optional: If you're ambitious, why not try out the Audioblogger service and add an audio post about your experience to your blog. (see Jamie's audiopost on Library 2.0 as an example)

# . Posted by HeleneB | 2 comments

#20 You too can YouTube

Listen to this podcast [1:58]-->powered by ODEO

Within the past year online video hosting sites have exploded allowing users to easily to upload and share videos on the web. Among all the web 2.0 players in this area, YouTube is currently top dog serving up over 1 million video views a day and allowing users not only to upload their own video content easily, but also embed clips into their own sites easily.

Do some searching around YouTube yourself and see what the site has to offer. You'll find everything from 1970s TV commercials and 60s music videos to library dominos and kids singing about bloopers here. Of course, like any free site you’ll also find a lot stuff not worth watching too. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t explore and see for yourself what the site has too offer. :)

Discovery Exercise:
  1. Explore YouTube & find a video worth adding as an entry in your blog.
  2. Create a blog post about your experience. What did you like or dislike about the site and why did you choose the video that you did? Can you see any features or componets of the site that might be interesting if they were applied to library websites?

    OPTIONAL: Try placing the video inside your blog using the copy and paste code for the for "Embeddable Player.” Note: you'll need to use Blogger's Edit HTML tab when pasting this code.




Here’s a video (created by PLCMC's Web Services) that I embedded that shows off ImaginOn’s Express Check.

Note: Due to frustrations that many users are having with Internet Explorer 6.0.2 crashing when trying to open this post, I've had to remove the embedded video. - pah!     Yup! Another reason to take the leap and discover FireFox.


Other popular video hosting sites:

NOTE: Videos, like music downloads, are bandwidth hogs. It is recommended that you complete this exercise during light internet usage times.

# . Posted by HeleneB | 1 comments

#19 Discovering Web 2.0 tools

[Sorry, no podcast for this "thing." You'll have to exercise your eyes instead.]

Throughout the course of this Learning 2.0 program we’ve explored just a small sampling of these new internet technologies and websites that are empowering users with the ability to create and share content. But given time there are so many more we could explore. Current estimates place the number of web 2.0 tools at somewhere between 300 & 500 with only a handful emerging as market dominators. And although time will only tell which of these new collaborative, social networking and information tools will remain on top, one
thing is for sure, they're not going to go away (at least anytime soon).

For this discovery exercise, participants are asked to select any site from this list of Web 2.0 Awards nominees and explore it. With so many to choose from, it might be handy to first select a category that interests you (like Books or Personal Organization) and then simply select a tool/site to explore. Be careful to select a tool that is Free and that doesn't require a plug-in or download. The majority of these free, so this shouldn’t be a problem.

Discovery Exercise:
  1. Select any site/tool from the list of Web 2.0 Awards nominees. (If you prefer to select from just the winners, here’s a link to the short list.)
  2. Explore the site you selected.
  3. Create a post about your discovery. What did you like or dislike about the tool? What were the site’s useful features? Could you see any applications for its use in a library setting?

Web 2.0 – with so much to explore, just start with ONE. :)

# . Posted by HeleneB | 4 comments