Welcome to Week 4 of 23 Things!

Welcome to Week 4 of 23 Things! Hopefully you have completed the Things for Week 3 which means that you have explored Flickr, mashups, and posted something about “anything technology” to your blogs.  Most people have really enjoyed learning about Flickr and are really being very creative!

As you move through the 23 Things, you might find some “things” that you like more than others. If you don’t want to spend much time on something, just read the information and write about what you liked or didn’t like. Spend more time on the “things” you really like or things you think BCPL might use with our customers.

Did you visit the participant blogs yet?  (http://baltimorecountyparticipants.blogspot.com/) They are really looking great!  I see lots of good learning going on out there.  Also, take a look at what participants are doing across the State.  For example, check out Eastern Shore Regional, Western Maryland Regional, Carroll County, Harford County, Howard County, Cecil County, and more!

I suggest you use the Account Reference Sheet and the Tracking Log as you move through the program. Both of these are available from the right-hand side of the BCPL Participants Page, http://baltimorecountyparticipants.blogspot.com/,  under “Handy Links.” You do NOT need to turn in the Tracking Log to us even though the directions say to. However, you might find it useful for tracking your own progress through the 23 Things. Don’t forget to label your posts with the Week number and Thing #. This helps us track your progress and qualify you for CEUs and prizes.

This week’s topic is RSS & Newsreaders – you have the following activities to complete:

Week 7: RSS & Newsreaders
8. Learn about RSS feeds and setup your own Bloglines newsreader account.
9. Locate a few useful library related-blogs and/or news feeds.

Tips for Week 4:

• You may find the very end of the Thing 8 is a little difficult in terms of “finding your public Bloglines” URL.  Consider that part optional, but take it on as a challenge.  Blogrolls are lists of other people’s blogs that you put onto your blog.  Often you will see a blog that lists other blogs.  This is a blogroll.  There’s an example on MERLIN (see “Library News Blogs” on right of home page). MERLIN is discussed in Thing 9.
• In Thing 9, we mention MERLIN.  If you don’t know about MERLIN, please check it out.  Currently, the MERLIN Advisory is starting a new site supporter team to work on the MERLIN website.  If you have any suggestions, please post these to your blog  for Thing 9.  We hope that after you finish the 23 Things, that you will continue to play with new technologies and use MERLIN as a resource.  We plan to continue to add cool new stuff and ways that we can share as a community there.

General Tips and Tricks:

         I don’t see many blogs using Labels yet. To add Labels to your blog:

o   Log into your blog and then choose Customize from the upper right-hand corner.

o   Choose to “add a new page element” and choose the one called Labels.

o   Each time you write a post, you can “catalog” them the way that makes sense to you. Some blogs call these labels (Blogger) and some call them tags or categories. You can have a “Tag Cloud” or a list of categories. See my blog for an example of a tag cloud and a list of categories, http://learninglibrary20.wordpress.com/.

o   For more help : http://help.blogger.com/bin/answer.py?answer=50644

Don’t forget to check out the “Posts Worth Reading” on the BCPL Participants Page, http://baltimorecountyparticipants.blogspot.com/. These are posts from your co-workers’ blogs!

Would you like to add a widget for “Recent Comments” to your blog? See my post for an example and directions,

http://learninglibrary20.wordpress.com/2007/07/22/recent-comments-widget-for-your-blogger-blog/. 

 The discovery exercise #1 for Week 6, Thing 13 says to listen to the Del-icio.us tutorial. That link does not work. Try this one instead, http://www.ottergroup.com/blog/_archives/2006/10/9/2401289.html.

Did you know you can add a poll to your blog? Go into your template and add a “page element.” Choose the one for a poll and create away!

Here’s a hint for your blogs from ScrappinErin, http://scrappinerin.blogspot.com/,  who has finished her 23 Things! Congratulations!


Helpful Hint #1 – Making your time stamp match
If you’re wondering why your time stamp does not match the actual time, you have to change it to eastern time under settings on your blog, here’s how:

• Click on Customize in the upper right hand corner
• Click on Settings Tab
• Click on Formatting Tab
• Scroll down to – Time Zone
• Select – Eastern Time

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions

Welcome to Week 3 of 23 Things!

Welcome to Week 3 of 23 Things! Hopefully you have completed the Things for Week 2 which means that you have set up your blog and registered it.  Soon you will see everybody’s blog listed on the BCPL participants’ page:  http://baltimorecountyparticipants.blogspot.com/. We even have a few participants who have already finished the program and have qualified for their CEUs and prizes! Don’t forget: you must actually complete all 23 Things to qualify for the CEUs and prizes.

1. If you have not registered for the program but would still like to do so, please give me a call or send me an email.

2. If you have not registered your blog yet, you can do so from the BCPL participants page, http://baltimorecountyparticipants.blogspot.com/. Scroll partway down the page until you see the info below or click the link in this email message:

Week 2, Thing 4 Details – Registering Your Blog. To complete Thing #4, you’ll need to Register Your Blog. Please use your WORK email address, as registration is monitored. Remember that your blog address can be anonymous on your blog, but your liaison needs to know the address so you can be added to our Participant Blog List. You don’t want to miss out on CEUs or prizes!”

3. If you have registered your blog but it has not appeared on the BCPL Participants page, please send me an email with your name and blog address (starts with http://). Please give us 1-2 days to post your blog on the Participants page.

4. If you would like some help, you have several options:

a. Ask a co-worker!
b. Call me (Ellen Ward), x2514, or send me an email, ellen@bcpl.net
c. Sign up to attend our 23 Things Drop-In session at the North Point training lab on Thursday 7/26, 9:00 AM-3:00 PM. Call the Help Desk, x3000, to sign up.

This week’s topic is Photos & Images - you have the following activities to complete:
5. Explore Flickr and learn about this popular image hosting site.
6. Have some Flickr fun and discover some Flickr mashups & 3rd party sites.
7. Create a blog post about anything technology related that interests you this week.
You may find it helpful to listen to the podcast developed by Helene Blowers for PLCMC.  We have not included it on our site because she references PLCMC directly at times, but if you can ignore that part and focus on all of the good information she has to share you will find it helpful.  Click on this link to access the podcast:  Flickr Fun podcast – http://odeo.com/audio/1460333/view . (Click the audio file at the top of the page to listen.)

Week 3 Challenge!
I challenge you to write an interesting post about how BCPL can use any of the new services you’ve been learning about! I’ll choose the best posts and add them to “Posts Worth Reading” on the BCPL Participants page.

Handy Things to Know
1. I found a problem with Blogger posts not posting promptly. I haven’t heard about this problem from any of our staff but you might just want to be aware of it. http://bloggerstatusforreal.blogspot.com/2007/07/posts-not-posting-promptly.html

1.  In Blogger, if you use the Dots theme, you have to add a page element to get the title of your blog to display on your blog’s main page. Sign in to your blog and that will take you to your “Dashboard”. Click on the Layout link and then on top left of your page, click on the link to “Add a Page Element.” You’ll see lots of choices here, but for now, choose “Add a Page Header” and click on the “Add to Blog” button. Add a title for your blog and a description, if you want to. You can even add an image but make sure it looks okay after you save it. (Mine didn’t.) Click Save changes and then click on the link to View Blog. Make sure everything looks the way you want it!See my example: http://bcpltestblog.blogspot.com/.
2. Add your blog address to your Flickr account by clicking on the down arrow next to the menu for “You.” Choose “Your Account” from the drop down list of menu items. Click on the “Extending Flickr” tab (it looks like a link). You’ll see something for “Your blogs” and can add your blog address here.
3. How do I post photos to my blog from Flickr? First you’ll have to configure your Blogger blog so Flickr knows where to find it (see number 3 above). You’ll be guided through the set-up process, and at the end you can try a test post to make sure everything works.  When that’s done, you can blog any public photo you see on Flickr. When you’re looking at a single photo, for example, http://www.flickr.com/photo.gne?id=23754, you’ll see a “Blog This” button above it.  Note: If you don’t see the “Blog This” button, you probably need to make the photo public (click “edit” next to the privacy indicator under “Additional Information” on the photo’s page).

Click the “Blog This” button for the photo you want to post. If you’ve set up your blog, you can post immediately by adding a title and body for the post. There’s a link to your blog as well so you can check that the entry looks OK.  You can set up as many blogs as you like. 

Reminders about 23 Things

1. If you have registered your blog, please make sure it appears on our Baltimore County Participants page, http://baltimorecountyparticipants.blogspot.com/. You probably won’t see it immediately after you register since Jim and I are adding these manually. We’ve been trying to add them as quickly as we can. If it doesn’t appear after a day, please contact one of us.

2. If you *haven’t* registered your blog yet, the link is on the Baltimore County Participants page, http://baltimorecountyparticipants.blogspot.com/ . Please remember to use the address (or URL) of your blog, not your login information.

3. When you create a title for your posts, please indicate which week and which “thing” you are writing about. This will help Jim and I track your eligibility for the prizes. Check out Jim’s blog for a good example, http://bluffingwildly.blogspot.com/ .

4. Remember to log out of your Google Account (your blog) and Bloglines, if you are sharing a computer while working on this project. If you don’t sign out, the next person might have access to your account!

5. You do not need to submit the 23 Things Tracking Log, http://www.bcpl.info/docs/23_Things_Tracking_Log.doc, to us at the end of the program. We’ll use your blog to track your completion. You can however, use this sheet to help your own tracking of your progress.

6. The Account Reference sheet, http://www.bcpl.info/docs/Account_Reference_Sheet.pdf, may be useful as you create accounts for many different services.

7. We’ll be highlighting “Some Blog Posts Worth Reading” on our Participants page, http://baltimorecountyparticipants.blogspot.com/ .

8. Remember:
a. Have fun!
b. Collaborate with your co-workers. Help each other and share what you’ve learned.
c. Remember to look at other people’s blogs and leave them a comment!
d. Learn a little technology and a lot about collaboration.
e. If you have questions, ask a co-worker! If they don’t have an answer for you, please feel free to call Jim DeArmey (x6124) or me – Ellen Ward (x2514). You can also call the Staff Help Desk(x3000) – but remember they are learning this along with you. That said, they’ll be willing to try and figure things out with you.

Welcome to Week 2 of 23 Things!

Welcome to Week 2 of 23 Things! By now you should all have registered for the program and gotten a good overview of 23 Things by completing the activities from Week 1. If you have not yet registered for the program, you can do so on the Baltimore County Public Library  participants’ page: http://baltimorecountyparticipants.blogspot.com/.  

The second week’s topic is blogging – you have the following activities to complete:

 

Week 2: Blogging
3. Set up your own blog & add your first post.
4. Register your blog and Track your progress to journey into Learning 2.0 together. Important Notes:·         Please refer to our participants’ page, http://baltimorecountyparticipants.blogspot.com/ - for more information about how we are running our program for Thing 4. 

• The Tracking Log IS NOT required to be turned in or even to be used at all, although it says so in the program. Jim and I are not requiring that you use this sheet, however you may use it as an aid for yourself.
• Regarding blog registration –  Blog registration is not automatic on our end.  After everybody registers, we still need to manually add blogs to the Particpant page.  We plan to do this daily and will regularly check to see if we catch any new ones as we move forward in this program.  There is no need for you to email us unless you see that your blog doesn’t get posted within two days.
• People are frequently confusing the *title* of their blog with the *address* of the blog.
  1. The ADDRESS is found in the addressbar of your browser – Internet Explorer. It should look like http://bcpltestblog.blogspot.com/ where bcpltestblog is whatever name you gave your blog when you registered it at Blogger.com. This is the address we need from you so we can post your blog on the participants page and so that Jim and I can track your participation in the program and qualify you for the drawing for prizes.
  2. The TITLE is the name that displays on your blog’s main page. In the example I gave, the blog has a title of “Ellen’s Test Blog.” You can see that it can be different than the ADDRESS. If you have other questions, see if there is a co-worker who might be able to give you some help. Part of the program is working on this and learning with your co-workers.

 Some helpful links:Blogger Basics: http://help.blogger.com/bin/topic.py?topic=8912Blogger Basics: How do I post a picture: http://help.blogger.com/bin/answer.py?answer=41641&topic=10271Blogger Basics: I can’t log in: http://help.blogger.com/bin/answer.py?answer=41971&topic=10269Blogger Basics: Posting and Editing: http://help.blogger.com/bin/topic.py?topic=8915How do I post to my blog? http://help.blogger.com/bin/answer.py?answer=41378&topic=8915How do I add a photo to my profile: http://help.blogger.com/bin/answer.py?answer=42093&topic=8928   Please share this with anyone who might not otherwise receive it. Good luck and let us know how it’s going.  Ellen Ward (ellen@bcpl.net)Jim DeArmey (jdearmey@bcpl.net) 

Welcome to the official Week 1 of 23 Things!

Welcome to the official Week 1 of 23 Things! Some of you are speeding

along and good for you!  This message is for those who are just starting

out.

 

Week 1 is about getting all of your questions answered about our journey. 

Please know that Jim and I are here to help you with any questions that

you have about the logistics of this program.  However, what’s cool about

this program is that it is a chance to learn from each other. 

 

We are approaching 1,000 people registered statewide as a few more library

systems begin this program, some later this summer and fall.  BCPL has

over 300 people registered!  We encourage you to check out the other blog

sites listed on the Participant blogs,

http://mdlib2participants.blogspot.com/ , and watch what happens in the

coming weeks as everyone builds their blogs and they get posted.  

 

 

 

Under “Handy Links” (look on the right-hand column) on our

participants page, http://baltimorecountyparticipants.blogspot.com/,

you will find links to the Tracking Log discussed in Thing 4 and an

Account Reference Sheet.

 

  *  The Tracking Log IS NOT required to be turned in, or even to be

     used at all, although it says so in the program. Jim and I are

     not requiring that you use this sheet, however, you may use it as

     an aid for yourself.

  *  The Account Reference Sheet will be handy for tracking the

     usernames and passwords you select for various sites as you move

     through the program. Generally, the easiest thing to do is use

     the same username and password for all of them, if you can.

 

 

 

Week 1’s topic is an Introduction. You have the following activities

to complete:

 

 

 

Week 1: Introduction

1. Read this blog & find out about the program.

2. Discover a few pointers from lifelong learners and learn how to

nurture your own learning process.

  

Tip:

 

Some of the “things” have podcasts where you can click the play

button and listen for more information about the exercise.  Many of

the podcasts were developed by Helene Blowers at PLCMC to help her

staff. When you click the button, you may need to wait a few seconds

for the podcast to begin to play.  If for any reason a podcast does

not play, don’t fret.  The written “thing” has all of the critical

information to help you learn.

 

If you know someone who is still interested in registering for the

program, it’s not too late.  Tell them to go to the Baltimore County

Public Library  participants’ page: 

http://baltimorecountyparticipants.blogspot.com/ .

 

Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions.

 

 

 

The program is meant to be self-paced. Sometimes you may feel ready

to move on and other times you might want to take more time on one

section. It’s up to you! You have 13 weeks to complete the program.

 

 

 

Ellen Ward (ellen@bcpl.net)

 

Jim DeArmey (jdearmey@bcpl.net)