23 Things Assignment #8

I discovered numerous videos related to the Toronto Public Library. Some show programs at various branches, there was one about youth feedback for the Strategic Plan and others were taken inside a library by a patron. I chose the video on Ready for Reading. This video gives a brief explanation of what this program is.

This fire occurred at townhouses close to where I live. It was quite something to see. Fortunately, the townhouses were under construction and no one lived in them. No one was injured.

It was interesting to see some of the videos on YouTube. They certainly cover a wide range of topics and are of varying quality. I did not find the videos I watched very useful. I would not choose to watch them for entertainment.

TPL could put a general introduction to the library system on YouTube outlining what TPL has to offer to attract new users. A video aimed at specific groups, such as newcomers, explaining what the library has to meet their needs might also be useful. YouTube could also be used for the promotion of programs such as was done for Ready for Reading. Perhaps it could be used for staff training. If a training session were filmed, staff could watch it in their branch. However, they would not be able to ask questions or get help.

23 Things Assignment #7

I tried subscribing to several National Geographic podcasts - National Geographic Minutes, National Geographic World Talk and The Best of National Geographic Magazine, but after I chose subscribe, the description of the podcast which came up indicated that these podcasts were no longer available. This was disappointing as there were interesting podcasts listed.

I subscribed to the following podcasts:

CBC Radio: The Best of As It Happens
The radio in my kitchen is always set to the CBC station and I often listen to As It Happens. Now I know that if I miss the show, I can listen to some of the highlights from it. It is updated regularly. However, I would rather listen to CBC shows on the radio rather than on podcasts.

Learn French with daily podcasts
I thought that this might be a good way to learn French. There are daily podcasts with dictations, lessons in vocabulary and some videos. However, the lessons do not seem to progress in an organized fashion and there did not seem to be any indication of the level of French being taught. Not everything is free. There were links for learning guides and transcripts, but when you click on them it takes you to a page listing options that had to be paid for. I did not find these podcasts useful enough to use.

Vegan Podcast - Vegetarian Food for Thought
My daughter is a vegan so I thought that I might find some useful information from this podcast. Colleen, who does the podcasts, also promotes her website and her cookbook. There are podcasts on things such as supplements and the use of leather but I did not find any useful information on nutrition for vegans. I might be more successful with her website or cookbook.

It was interesting to see the range of topics on which there are podcasts. I used Podcast Alley to find them. However, it takes time to search through the directory. I would not go searching for podcasts to listen to. However, if I heard of one that particularly interested me I might listen to it.

23 Things Assignment #6

I created a document in Google Docs and invited TPL 23 Things to collaborate. However, I was behind on the assignments and then went on holiday, so I did not get a chance to collaborate on a document shared by all 23 Things members.

It is good to know that Google Docs exists. It is not something that I would use now but will keep it in mind for the future. It could be useful if you were on a committee with an outside organization and needed to work on a document with other committee members. Everyone would be able to collaborate from anywhere. Within TPL, it could also be used by members of a committee who are working on a document. It might be useful for working on book lists such as Great Reads.