comments, Unit 8

My comments for Week 8:

http://emilydavislisblog.blogspot.com/2010/10/muddiest-point-week-8.html?showComment=1288460933428#c8235367017613049087

http://jsslis2600.blogspot.com/2010/10/week-8-reading-notes.html?showComment=1288460643082#c8512935872047253757

Thanks! :)

-Rachel

Unit 8 Reading Notes

Hi, All!

Here are my thoughts on the readings for Unit 8:

After reading the user guide on HTML, I can honestly say that this is a site that I will be absolutely certain to use in future situations.  I really like how HTML is broken into smaller pockets or subtopics of information. This makes the subject matter much easier to understand, and less overwhelming and foreign. As librarians, who knows what kind of technological situations we will be responsible for, so this is good practice for potential predicaments and troubleshooting.  I enjoyed learning about all of the different symbols for certain commands such as bold, italics, attributes, headings, etc., because prior to this course, I never really understood the detailed workings of HTML markup, though I had seen it dozens of times while working on a computer.  I also appreciate the “Try it Yourself” option that is connected to each different part of the website.   This makes it a very user-friendly learning experience that really helps to increase everday peoples’ knowledge of markup.  I would highly recommend this article to anyone who is interested in learning more about the basics of HTML!

Similarly, I think the HTML cheat sheet is a HUGE help, and a great reference point for someone who is just learning how to create a website.  What an awesome resource to have handy! Especially since the document prior to this one was so intensive and detailed, it is great to have a resource that would complement it nicely and provide a quick reference point.

The article on CSS was also really interesting, because I had never heard of this before. Id really like to read more about CSS and work on some hands-on examples for this particular topic, in the hopes of gaining a better idea of the concept and its practical application in markup languages on a daily basis.

Muddiest Point from 10/25

I'm working in an elementary school library, and we're working on a project researching images...I'm wondering why Bing pulls up such different images from Google images?  This isn't exactly related to the lecture, but what with watching the Google video, I've been thinking a lot about how these different search engines could be set up. I'm just curious why Bing seems to be much more conservative with their search results. Thanks!

-Rachel

Assignment 4: Zotero and CiteULike

Hello!  Here is the URL of my library in CiteULike for Assignment 4, due October 25:

http://www.citeulike.org/user/Rachel87

Comments, Unit 7

Comments I posted on others' blogs:

http://feliciaboretzkylis2600.blogspot.com/2010/10/week-7-notes.html?showComment=1287790082212#c1585906422942168169

http://jonas4444.blogspot.com/2010/10/reading-notes-for-week-7.html?showComment=1287790583408#c6823630362898383374

:)  Thanks!

-Rachel Nard

Muddiest Point: Fasttrack wknd

I really have no muddiest point from fasttrack weekend--it was really nice to be on campus for class!  The lecture was very clear and it was an enjoyable lecture. As a side note, I thought the mini exercise, Find Your PC's IP to be interesting and good, practical application of one of the topics we've talked about in class.
-Rachel Nard

Unit 7, Reading Notes

Reading Notes for Unit 7, due october 23

Some thoughts...


I found this article to be really user-friendly and easy to understand. It made understanding networks and the hierarcy of these structures quite easy to comprehend. In fact, I would probably recommend this to high school kids in a  technology class, just beginning to study/understand networks and internet stucture.  An amount of this information was good for review, but there were also facts and definitions I was not aware of.  For example, the meaning and function of POP's and NAP's. Overall, the basic function and structure of the Internet is covered in this article: the Internet is a whole bunch (many, many!) interconnected networks that no single person owns.  Of course, the exact structure of networks is extremely complex in and of itself, but the basic structure of the Internet is conveyed in clear language.  This is what I most appreciate about this article. I also thought the information on Domain Name System was interesting...I hadn't considered before what a web address might look like if this didn't exist.  It's interesting to consider, and puts the interconnectedness of all things related to the Internet into perspective.

A few comments about the video"Inside the Google Machine."   I thought this video was really pretty fascinating, especially the image at the beginning of the video that shows Google patterns worldwide. Seeing this kind of thing is quite powerful, and makes a major statement about the power of Google in today's society. I really enjoyed this video. It offers a different perspective and a good view of what Google is focusing on currently.

Assignment 3: Jing video/flickr photos

Jing Video:  This narrated video is all about how to navigate the Carnegie Science Center website.  Included is information on learning more about Exhibits at the Science Center, and programming for children and families (classes, camps, sleepovers, etc.)

http://www.screencast.com/t/eMMkWL9k

Screen shots with instructional annotations on how to sign up online for Camps at Carnegie Science Center, and navigating the website:

Image 1:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/53516250@N05/5068211547/

Image 2:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/53516250@N05/5068829264/

Image 3:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/53516250@N05/5068230835/

Image 4:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/53516250@N05/5068851720/

Image 5:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/53516250@N05/5068275843/

comments, due 10/9

Here are the links to the comments I made on other classmates' blog posts:

http://acovel.blogspot.com/2010/10/week-6-reading-notes.html?showComment=1286646845733#c1577986890360342834

http://jonas4444.blogspot.com/2010/10/week-5-muddiest-point.html?showComment=1286647297751#c2640781529893397794

http://gemma2600.blogspot.com/2010/10/week-6-readings.html?showComment=1286648436169#c8843288547803945309

Thanks!  :)
Rachel Nard

Muddiest Point, due 10/4

The lecture was very clear and I feel like I understood everything quite well.  The only type of network I'm still a little confused by is Virutal Private Network. The concept makes sense, but it would be really helpful to have an example of this, if possible. I think it would help clarify the details. Thanks!

-Rachel Nard

Unit 6, reading notes: computer networks, wireless networks

Prior to reading these pieces, I would say I had had a very, very basic understanding of computer networks and all the details surrounding this topic.  I was not at all aware of the interesting history of LANs and the information behind the development of these networks. 

The typical library network diagram included on the wikipedia page for computer networks, was really easy to understand and visually engaging.  This kind of detailed visual has the potential to get complicated very quickly, but this proved to be very user friendly, in my opinion.  I really appreciate reading the kind of solid overviews that articles (such as the wikipedia entries) provide.  In fact, these kinds of pieces would be good to use in a high school library for an information technology class, as they are very user-friendly and straightforward.  It's refreshing to read because while one may hear all of these terms tossed around in conversation, it is especially helpful to have a good, clear background of what all of these terms mean in relation to one another.  Prior to these articles, I had not heard of the exact term PAN (personal area network).  I knew networks such as this exist what with personal comptuer use so prevalent today, I just didn't have the background with the language/terminology that a person working in the field probably has acquired over time.  Also, I thought the concept of Virtual Private Network was a bit more complicated to understand, so it will be really helpful to listen to the lecture and review the text once again for better comprehension.

Most of all, the short video on common types of networks really helped to clarify the points of confusion and questioning I had regarding networks (i.e. their structure, overall function, relatedness to other networks,, etc.)

So, there are a number of issues surrounding RFID.  Because of potential privacy issues, it sounds like it will either become a successful trial used efficiently in a library system, or it will be discarded. I plan to record my notes on this issue on the discussion board (in the RFID section) for the course.

-Rachel Nard

Unit 5 comments, due Oct. 2

 Links to comments I posted for Unit 5 Reading Notes:


http://nrampsblog.blogspot.com/2010/09/unit-5-reading-notes.html?showComment=1286037896782#c4385289727716258148

http://maj66.blogspot.com/2010/09/metadata-and-dublin-core.html?showComment=1286038417871#c3903811927988995798

http://dougappich-informationtechnology.blogspot.com/2010/10/week-5-reading-notes.html?showComment=1286038658795#c4276676024369623026

Unit 5, Reading Notes

Database (Wikipedia)

It's interesting, because while I use electronic resources like database so often, I don't often think of all of the components of a database, or how they are structured.  When researching, I think a lot of people tend of focus on the actual research question and finding the information, rather than the details of how a database is structured, organized, etc., and the details surrounding databse management systems.  This article provides a comprehensive look at databases, including their definition, structure, and some interesting information about database management systems.  I think it's often very helpful to go back to the root of something like a database, and learn about the details. This provides for a greater understanding of all those little details that (I at least!) don't think about all the time, for example database artchitecture, the meaning of an operational database, warehouse database, etc.  I thought this article provided an understandable, well-organized overview of databases.

Setting the Stage

Metadata, "data about data" is, like so many things in our increasingly digitally-centered world, becoming more and more accessible to the user.  All the time on the Web, people are creating metadata, often without realizing they are doing just that.  The increase in social bookmarking, folksonomies (i.e. tagging on blogs and social networking sites like Flickr), and the like are all allowing and encouraging anyone with internet access to create and essentially manage metadata.  This strikes me as particuarly fascinating, and I'd be interested in learning more about this relatively recent explosion in user-controlled metadata.  While this increased access to information and the ability to create and maintain metadata is terrific on one hand, it also makes for an interesting conversation about the effects that this will ultimately have on information access, authority, and organization.  Yes, it's great that people have access and the ability to create this kind of data, but it is now more important than ever to educate users about how metadata works and is organized, to make quality information more accessible and less overwhelming on the Web. I'm interested in considering the question:  I think this is where patron-centered programming and workshops can come into play, in public, academic, and even k-12 school libraries.  The more clearly people understand the function and purpose of tagging and similar functions on the Web, the better chance we have at making quality information accessible and easy to locate for all users. This document provides an organized overview of metadata. I especially appreciate the tables with information listed about the types of metadata and their purpose in information organization. I also liked reading about the Little Known Facts About Metadata. This helps to break down this large topic into smaller categories for consideration and discussion.


An Overview

The Dublin Core initiative is a very interesting one that seems to have caught on quite well, with good basic guidelines for creating metadata.  The information provided about Dublin Core is straightforward, and the purpose of the individual communities within the Dublin Core initiative is clearly conveyed.  I read about Dublin Core a bit more on the main website of the organization, and there are many individual communities dedicated to specific information organization goals.  This was really interesting to read about, because while I had heard of Dublin Core before, I did not realize that there are so many communities that make up this organization.

-Rachel Nard

Muddiest Point for 9/27

I found the information in this lecture to be particularly useful and interesting, especially since I'm working with photos/video so much in the school library for student teaching.  My question is: there are so many different file extensions, many of which are only compatible with certain programs, plugins, etc.  A video, for example, might have the extension .wmv  Say for example that a video cannot be viewed on Windows, because it is compatible with Mac software...is there some sort of file extension converter to download to make the video more compatible and the file extension useable with a variety of programs?  I had trouble viewing a .wmv video once because I did not have a certain plugin on my computer, and i think it would be really useful to know how to convert files (if this is possible) and make the file extension more universal.  Thanks!

-Rachel Nard