Thanks to everyone who attended our L2@Mac celebration this morning! We handed out a bunch of MP3 players, tried a little DDR (at least some of us did!), drank coffee, ate scones, and had a draw for a Toshiba laptop! The winner? Pat Collins from Innis Library! Congratulations, Pat Check out our Flickr account for a few pictures of this morning’s event.

In other news, the ETG blog will be taking a brief break for a couple of weeks (we need a breather! And you do too!), but we’ll be starting up again in a couple of weeks with posts about interesting 2.0 tools for you to check out. So, check back in a bit (better yet, if you subscribed to this blog in your RSS reader, you’ll know when we’re back if you’re keeping up with your feeds!).

[posted by amanda]

Thank you to everyone who posted thoughts about the programme to their blogs! I grabbed a few quotes and put them into a presentation (which we played during our celebration event this morning) which you can view below. For a downloadable PDF version of the presentation, click here.

Enjoy!

PS: wondering how I embedded this presentation into this blog post? I used SlideShare, a cool (and free!) slide sharing utility. To embed a presentation into your blog simply register for an account at SlideShare, upload your presentation file, copy the code to embed your slideshow into a blog post, and paste it into your blog!

[posted by amanda]

After 12 weeks of exploring new tech tools, you’ve probably already come to the realization that technology is developing at lightening speed. Some of you have already told me that you feel relatively up-to-date as a result of your L2@Mac experience, but that you’re concerned that if you don’t “keep up”, you’re going to feel left behind by next week! So, how do you keep up? Here are a few ideas, tools and strategies:

Three little letters: RSS
There is nothing better than RSS to help you track your favourite sources (news, blogs, etc.) with minimal time spent surfing needlessly. If you completed the activities for week 3, you already have an aggregator set up, which is great. But how do you fill that aggregator with useful sources to keep you up-to-speed on these technologies? Read on!

ETG is your Emerging Technologies Group!
That’s right, ETG is here for you! Subscribe to this blog (if you haven’t already) because we’ll be posting about new tools and technologies of interest to academic libraries, teaching, learning & research. Also, subscribe to the feed for our del.icio.us account (the feed is right here. Remember to right-click the link, copy it, and then add it to your aggregator to subscribe). We use our del.icio.us account to link to interesting stuff we find on the web, so keep an eye on it if you’d like to know what we’re exploring!

Explore the Biblioblogosphere
“Biblioblogosphere” is the umbrella term for all library-related blogs (e.g. blogs authored by librarians, library vendors, etc.). There are literally hundreds of library-related blogs out there, many of which focus on technology, but others that focus on specific areas of library-related expertise and service (e.g. access services, technical services & cataloguing, reference, etc.). Here are a couple of ways to find library-related blogs of interest to you:

• Browse through this list of library-related blogs on LISWiki
• Search LibWorm (an RSS search engine that indexes the RSS feeds of library-related blogs) for a topic that interests you. You can subscribe to the search feed or use it to find new blogs that address topics that suit your interests.

Explore technology blogs
If it’s the nuts & bolts 2.0 tools you’re interested in, here are a couple of blogs you might want to subscribe to:

• Download Squad (here’s the feed) - covers 2.0 tools, applications, and software.
• TechCrunch (here’s the feed) - profiles & reviews new web technologies and companies.
• Engadget (here’s the feed) - covers the always exciting world of technology gadgets!

Keep an eye on the literature
There are a number of online journals and magazines that address the tools & technologies we covered during L2@Mac. Here are a few to keep an eye on:

• Computers in Libraries
• D-Lib Magazine
• Educause Review
• First Monday
• ONLINE
• WebJunction’s Social Software Section

The final word: keep up without getting snowed under!
Here are some tips to help you avoid (or overcome, as the case may be!) information overload!

• Keep your RSS subscription list manageable - not too many that you are overwhelmed! The “right” number will be different for everyone, so figure out the number that’s right for you and stick with it.
• Try to read your aggregator at least once a day. Take 15 minutes during a break or while it’s quiet at the desk. Scan the headlines in your aggregator, save or print out the items you’d like to return to later.
• If you get busy and let your feed-reading lapse, don’t panic! Scan the headlines and titles and start afresh. Or click that “Mark all read” button and start over!
• Monitor your interest in your feeds - if a week’s worth of content in a particular feed hasn’t held your interest, unsubscribe. Interests and priorities are constantly evolving, so don’t let your aggregator get bogged down with feeds that no longer interest you!
• New web 2.0 technologies and tools are popping up almost daily! If you find a new tool that interests you, check out the website and subscribe to the blog (you’d be hard pressed to find a web 2.0 company without a blog!)

Got any other “keeping up” strategies you’d like to share? Leave a comment!

[posted by amanda]

If so, don’t fret! All the content for the programme will be available right here on the ETG blog. Feel free to work through the topics & activities at your own pace, and contact your Team Leader if you need any help.

Also, ETG will be holding a couple of “L2@Mac summer camp” drop-ins and demos over the summer for those who didn’t get to them (like the gaming demo), and to help those who are still working through the programme!

L2@Mac wrapped up at the end of last week and a big, hearty, CONGRATULATIONS goes out to the 68 participants who completed the programme! Give yourselves a pat on the back because you deserve it!

To celebrate, ETG is holding a little L2@Mac celebration event on Wednesday, May 30th from 10-11.30 am in Council Chambers (Gilmour Hall). We’ll be handing out MP3 players, holding the draw for the laptop, and generally just celebrating Learning 2.0 @ Mac! All are invited (not just those who completed the programme) so please join us!

PS: forgot to mention, Kelly’s bringing DDR!

PPS: You don’t have to be at the event to win the laptop! If you’re one of the 68 participants who completed the programme, your name will still be entered in the draw. If you can’t attend the event on the 30th, let Amanda know and she’ll deliver your MP3 player to you!

If you’ve completed all your activities (and if you see one of these on this page next to your blog link) you are definitely L2@Mac CERTIFIED! Display your certification proudly by adding an “L2@Mac Certified” image to your blog! Click here for the complete gallery of images (instructions for how to add the image to your blog are on the individual image pages) or create your own at ImageChef!

Hi everyone - a quick post to let you know that L2@Mac has reached an exciting milestone: as of just a few minutes ago, 50 participants have completed the programme (that’s over half the number that signed up)! With a couple of days left until the deadline (Friday, May 11… let’s make it midnight!), we’re sure there will be a few more smiley faces on this page!

Way to GO

Congratulations on reaching the end of Learning 2.0 @ Mac! As you know, the deadline to complete all the activities is May 11 (that’s this Friday!) in order to qualify for your MP3 player and to be eligible for the draw for a laptop!

For the final week, we have just one last thing we want you to do: summarize your thoughts and reactions to what you’ve learned over the past 10 weeks. Here are just a few examples of the sorts of things we’d like to know:

• What were your favorite technologies, tools or activities?
• Has Learning 2.0 @ Mac helped you get comfortable with emerging technologies? How?
• Were there any take-aways or unexpected outcomes from this programme that surprised you?
• What could we do differently to improve upon this program’s format or concept?
• (And this is what we really want to know!) If the Emerging Technologies Group offered another discovery programme like this in the future, would you chose to participate?

While this final activity is not mandatory, we would very much like to hear your thoughts & reactions to the programme, so consider this a final favour to your Team Leaders

…The first batch of MP3 players has arrived!

A couple more drop-in sessions to help you get some time away from your desk to finish up your L2@Mac activities! All sessions are held in the Wong e-Classroom in Mills:

• Thursday, May 3: 11 am - 12 pm
• Friday, May 4: 2 - 3 pm
• Thursday, May 10: 11 am - 12 pm conflicts with Town Hall
• Thursday, May 10: 3 - 4 pm
• Friday, May 11, 11 am - 12 pm