Friday, September 28, 2007

October 1 - 7, week 4: Play week

Play!

Fun sites:
Star Wars meets Monty Python
Star Trek meets Monty Python

Why the fun sites? Wait for week 5.

Posted by Librarian Kathryn at 6:30 PM 0 comments

Friday, September 21, 2007

September 24 - 30, week 3: RSS

RSS stands for "Really Simple Syndication" or "Rich Site Summary" and is the basic building block of new web tools. It's a way of making the bits of the web you care about come to your desktop in an easily organised and accessed way - without you having to constantly go to the sites to check for updates.



It can take a while to "get". The best way to understand it is to subscribe to a few feeds and read them daily. It soon makes sense. This video explains the basics, RSS in Plain English. You will need to watch it before you move on to doing this week's Things:













These are some icons you may see to represent RSS.


rss icons



It's not only blogs that have feeds. Many libraries make their new books list available via RSS. You can also subscribe to:



  • all the photos someone posts to flickr

  • all bookmarks people have shared about "butterflies" on del.icio.us

  • all blog posts about "ferraris" on Technorati

  • all updates to a wiki.
(Just think - in 9 weeks that will make perfect sense :)



This week we are completing:


Thing 6: Learn to use google reader


Thing 7: Subscribe to some feeds


Your blog post: In what cases do you think RSS will be useful? For you? For our users? What makes it different to email ?.



WHY SHOULD I CARE?




  • Subscribers get information immediately.

  • Subscribers actually WANT your information or they wouldn't subscribe.


  • You no longer have to check websites for new content.


  • Feeds come to one place.


  • You can start or stop a subscription easily.


  • You can filter your RSS feed by subject (eg. only receive individual feeds from students' blogs that contain the word "library").


  • Very little spam sent via RSS


Where do I find RSS feeds?


Resources about librarianship



Further reading






Fun site for the week:
Boomshine (you'll need headphones)




Why the fun sites? Wait for week 5.

Posted by Librarian Kathryn at 5:15 PM 0 comments

Thing 7: Subscribe to some feeds

THING 7. Click on the links to go to some of the sites below - some links go straight to the RSS feed. Subscribe to at least two feeds from the list. Read them weekly until December. Daily is better.

Why? Because you only really understand RSS by using it regularly.

Library based:

Non - library based:


Not Just Blogs:



Library Material


Sue Dowling, Electronic Resources Librarian here at Murdoch University Library, has made a comprehensive list of library resources (like journals and databases) that offer RSS feeds here - Sites with useful RSS feeds


Teaching and Learning


Tama Leaver from Teaching and Learning at UWA in lists Some Examples of Good Postgraduate and Academic Blogging





IF YOU WANT MORE:
Visit Technorati and do a few searches to find some blogs you'd like to subscribe to.





Posted by Librarian Kathryn at 5:10 PM 0 comments

Thing 6: Learn to use google reader



THING 6. Learn about RSS and google reader.

Why? To save time and have new stuff come to you.

You have a gmail account, so you have a google reader account. To go to it from gmail.com, select More > Reader. The first time you use it, you will need to sign in.

You will need to add some feeds for it to be useful. This Thing shows you three ways to subscribe to RSS feeds. Once you have a couple of feeds set up, you should poke about to find out things like how to put feeds into folders, how to add a star and how to mark all feeds as read.

There will not always be an obvious RSS button to click on , so try each one of these three ways to add a feed. Method 3 is the one that works best for the blogs staff are creating for the 23 Things.

1. Go to librariesinteract.info


Method 1: Subscribe using the feed button



  • Left click on the feed icon and follow the prompts until you get to "subscribe in google reader"

Method 2: Cut and paste the feed link



  • Right click on the feed icon and select "Copy Link Location"

  • Go to "add a subscription" in google reader and paste in the link

Method 3: Cut and paste the URL for the page



  • Copy the URL from the address bar in your browser window

  • Go to "add a subscription" and paste in the link

  • (This is what you do when you HOPE that a page has an RSS feed and cannot find an icon anywhere )

IF YOU WANT MORE:
Try setting up an account for your feeds at bloglines or netvibes . Or try adding your google reader to an igoogle home page.





Posted by Librarian Kathryn at 5:00 PM 0 comments

Thursday, September 20, 2007

Week 2 in 23 Things blogland

Wow! 161 squares on the progress chart filled in already.


I didn't get the rush of blogs I expected at the start of this week and thought that maybe mass coyness had broken out in the library. Turned out that everyone's messages were going to the spam filter for libkat@gmail.com .


By Friday morning of week 2, there are 36 blogs registered.


A definite feline flavour is discernable - casbeecat , Cataplexis , catapult, Meer Cat Musings ... a freaky looking cat picture on scritty's soap opera - perhaps it was just looking menacingly at Goucho Marx's Dog. Maybe all these cats is what led someone to declare: I'm not a crazy cat lady..... yet.

There's been a bit of blog pimping happening - with a blogroll added to the sidebar on IT DEPENDS, some colour therapy at Too Near Too Far and a very attractive experiment with a blog at wordpress.com, Kaleidoscope World .

People have jumped straight into Thing 12 and uploaded images (yes, you can tick that one off on the chart). You can see why Colour chose the blog name, Uluru at 23things&sue , a handdrawn seahourse at wildgoose, an author photo at Gwyn the Geek, a beautiful reminder of what is important at Terri's Space , and a very scary photo on theflybrarian 's first post.

Although the theflybrarian was declared a guru on the progress chart, it may well be that catapult will buzz round as well for some image uploading help.

A common theme in blogs like Anne at Rockingham is being excited by the programme and looking forward to the next steps. Although some people like DEALT and Up, Up and Away also feel a little guilty about playing at work. Some people reflect on this type of programme is not really their thing, but they are interested to see where it goes - landscape, , madam butterfly and Zoester .

Some folk have completed this week's post, which is to list goals, obstacles and toolkit. The post was added to scritty's soap opera because she was inspired by the list on 23things&sue. If you browse blogs like In Black and White, Cataplexis , Book and a Hammock and Vader Zim: a perfectly normal human earth child you'll see that the common theme is needing time, and finding supportive people.

It's interesting to see people reflect on their learning styles - Is this the way to go? and wildgoose . I particularly liked wildgooses' musing that they learned from the 71/2 habits about:

... considering obstacles as opportunities - you know, when life's right on
that edge and about to slip over into *overwhelming* if something goes slightly
awry... Then lo and behold, it does... "Argh!! Obstacles!! Sorry world, now it's
all too much." But then little LifeLongLearner mind says "hey girl, that aint no
obstacle, that's a *learning opportunity*" - so that can mean the difference
between hiding under the desk/doona/front verandah a while, and finding the
energy to learrrrn my way through it.

For some people, a short and sweet post indicates that they made it - and have a blog - Pat's blog , podponderings, Reginas rant , sarah , sue's blog , Natalies blog , julies ,


A couple of people have understood that blogging is about conversations - with zen of zens' place asking for feedback about where to take overseas visitors to W.A, and callmesir hoping to receive Chocolate recipes.

If you enjoy people's reflections of what they read, and need a break from the 23 Things you can dip into Book and a Hammock or Recently Read

Sounds like one big learning conversation to me.

Posted by Librarian Kathryn at 8:57 PM 0 comments

Friday, September 14, 2007

September 17 - 23, week 2: Online email and Blogs

This week you set up the tools you need to reflect and record your progress in the 23 Things. Remember that there is a two week break coming up, so you can take 4 weeks to do Week2 and Week 3's tasks.

There are screencasts - small movies with voiceover showing someone using the website - to show you how to do each step for these Things. There will not be screencasts for all Things, as with exposure to these types of sites, you will get better at working it out for yourself.

This week you will complete:
Thing 3 - Setting up a gmail account
Thing 4 - Setting up a blog using blogger
Thing 5 - Tracking your progress on a wiki

BLOG POST: List goals, obstacles and things you'll need for your Learning toolkit, as shown in the 7 1/2 habits of highly successful lifelong learners. .


Online email

Online email allows you to use your email from any PC connected to the internet. You usually need to give another email address in case you lose your password, but most hosts like yahoo, hotmail and gmail let you set up as many accounts as you'd like. Often signing to an online email service allows you to access a host of other tools - more discussion about this in Week 6.

We are using gmail (google email) for the 23 Things because:

1. You need a gmail account to access blogger to set up your blog
2. It comes with a suite of wordprocessing, chat, image sharing, communication and mapping tools that many of our students are probably using.
3. Over the next 11 weeks, you will be joining several online sites to try out their web tools, and will need to give an email address. You may want to use your gmail account as a "throwaway" email account only for the 23 Things.



Blogs:

WHAT ARE THEY?
Websites with journal like entries arranged chronologically. Often with informal language and facility for others to comment on entries. The word comes from "web-log" or "weblog".

  • A type of web page.
  • Usually by just one author.
  • Are usually arranged by date, most recent entry first.
  • Have a home page containing the most recent entries, but often many archived pages that can be accessed from the home page.
  • Usually written in informal, casual language.
  • Contain entries like a journal or diary.
  • Usually are not written directly in HTML, but online into web pages that create format easily. There is no standard "blogging language".
  • Often categoried by subject headings and fully searchable via keyword.
  • Often about one subject.
  • Usually have a "comments" facility that is used extensively by readers.
  • Not necessarily just self indulgent blather, but increasingly used by corporations and companies as communication tools.
  • Individual entries can be sent via RSS feed.

WHY SHOULD I CARE?

  • They bypass the traditional sources of information for which libraries are gatekeepers.
  • They are a way of keeping up with our professional issues.
  • The casual language provides an "official" but less formal way of communicating with our users.
  • They can be biased, inaccurate and misleading. Libraries may have a part to play in evaluating blogs as information sources.
  • Even if a blog is created by one person, they provide a hub for other people with the same interests to gather and discuss.
  • They are probably the swiftest channel for information dissemination.
  • They are easy to make, fun and provide a great creative outlet.
If you’d like to have a look at what Australian librarians and libraries are blogging about, check out a few of the blogs on this list of Australian library blogs at librariesinteract.info.

Blogs are as much about the comments and conversations that occur on them, as the posts by the author. Many blogs become "salons" for entire communities who use the comments as mini foums for discussion.

Further Reading



Fun site for the week

Meez.com

Why the fun sites? Wait for week 5.

Posted by Librarian Kathryn at 5:30 PM 0 comments

Thing 5: Tracking your progress on the wiki


THING 5. Learn to track your progress on the passworded Murdoch University 23 Things wiki.

Why? So you can see your progress.

A wiki is an easily edited web page that can be fixed easily if it gets stuffed up. You will learn more about wikis in Week 6.

When you signed up, your name was added to a table in the Murdoch University 23 Things wiki. This progress chart, although on the internet, can only be accessed by people with the password that was mailed to you at the start of Week 2.

HOW TO DO IT:
Screencast is here, Tracking your progress on the wiki
Step by step instructions are below


STEP BY STEP:

To track your progress:

  1. Go to the Murdoch University 23 Things wiki


  2. Enter the password


  3. Enter your name and your gmail address


  4. Do not tick the "notify me of changes" unless you want to receive an email every time someone updates the wiki. (Remember that some people will have this ticked and will see your edits). If you accidentally tick this, go back to the wiki, select "log out" from the top right hand corner and then log back in again with it unticked.


  5. At the front page, select Progress Chart


  6. Find your name on your branch's chart.


  7. Select the Edit Page button. It's OK - you can't break it and if it looks like you have, the page can be set back to how it was before you touched it.


  8. If someone else is editing the wiki, you will be locked out until they have finished or 15 minutes is up. A message will appear on your screen to let you know.


  9. Indicate you have finished the task either by entering the date, or a smiley to indicate how you felt about the task.Select SAVE.

Posted by Librarian Kathryn at 5:24 PM 0 comments

Thing 4: Set up a blog using blogger


THING 4. Set up a blog using blogger.

Why? To reflect on what you are learning and take part in conversations online.

Your own blog is where you will record your thoughts, discoveries and exercises in the Murdoch University Library 23 Things. We are using blogger, which is owned by google.


HOW TO DO IT:

Screencast is here, Setting up a blog using blogger

Step by step instructions are below.


SOME THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND:

1. Your blog should be work friendly. For the next 11 weeks there will be work related content on it and your co-workers may read it. After this, it doesn't have to be about work, but readers should be comfortable reading it at work.

2. Your blog posts should be at least 100-150 words each week - we'd like to have a conversation and the more you post, the better the conversation will be.

3. How you identify yourself on your blog is your choice. You can blog under a screen name, anonymously, or as yourself.

Use your gmail account to email the name and URL of your blog to Kathryn - libkat at gmail.com. Let her know who you are so that she can track your progress . She will add it to the list of blogs on the Participants' blogs post. The list will feature only the blog name and a link.


Let her know if you want your blog listed next to your name on the passworded wiki.

IF YOU WANT MORE:
Create your blog using wordpress.com or edublogs.org instead. It is as simple to create as a blogger blog, but there is much, much more you can do with it if you tweak a bit.



STEP BY STEP

1. Log into gmail. Got to More and then select Blogger from the dropdown list.

2. You'll be taken to this screen, click on "Create blog now"

3. Select a display name.

4. Name your blog and choose an address.
The name is the title that displays at the top. For example, Bobbi's Thoughts or Bobbi's Babbling Your address is the URL people will type into go to go your blog. They do not have to match. You can change the title at any time, but not the URL.

For example your address could be bobbi123.blogspot.com
It may be hard to find an address that's available, so you may have to try several and use the "check availability" button

Be sure to record your blog address for yourself.

5. Select a template. You can tweak this and change the colours and what is on the sidebar later on.

6. You're ready to start blogging! Create your first post, even if it's just a test post.

7. To edit your blog, log into gmail and select MORE > Blogger.
Click on New Post to create a new post. Or on Posts to edit some posts. Or Settings. Or Template.

Posted by Librarian Kathryn at 5:05 PM 0 comments

Thing 3: Set up a gmail account

THING 2. Set up a gmail acct.

Why? So you can join sites online and to try out some useful google tools.

Most of the tools we set up for the 23 Things require you to register by entering data in forms like the gmail one.

HOW TO DO IT:
Screencast is here, How to get an gmail account
Step by step instructions are below.

Once you have your gmail account, send some test emails. If you are happy for other staff to know your gmail address, email libkat at gmail.com and Kathryn will put your gmail address on the passworded wiki...or you can do it yourself after Thing 5

Next time you want to log in, go to gmail.com

IF YOU WANT MORE: Get together with another participant, and see if you can work out how to use google chat to talk to each other right from your gmail page (Hint: Use Quick contacts on the left


STEP BY STEP:


  1. Go to http://google.com/

  2. Select More

  3. Select Gmail

  4. Select "Sign Up for Gmail"

  5. Enter:
  • First name

  • Last name

  • Login name - check availability

  • Password - note the strength

  • Create or answer the security question

  • Select location

  • Alternative email - you will be sent an email with a verification code. No need to click on it to verify but you do need to keep it for future reference (eg. in case you forget your password)

  • Enter the Word Verification to confirm you are a real person

  • Agree to the terms of service



Posted by Librarian Kathryn at 5:02 PM 0 comments

Stephen Abram launches Murdoch University Library 23 Things

Thanks very much to Stephen Abram for launching Murdoch University Library 23 Things with this video that we recorded on 31 August 2007.

If you are reading this in your aggregator and the embedded video doesn't display, here' s the link, Stephen Abram launches Murdoch University Library 23 Things. The background noise is people cleaning up after a seminar and starting the dishwasher.



Stephen Abram is Vice President of Innovation at Sirsi-Dynix, spends a lot of time looking at the future of libraries. He wrote one of the seminal works about Library 2.0 Web 2.0, Library 2.0, and Librarian 2.0: Preparing for the 2.0 World

In this clip, he answers these questions:
1. What are the big changes for libraries that a 23 Things program addresses?
2. What would you say to staff who are trying to fit a 23 Things program into their workday?
3. What's your favourite web tool ?
4. What's your favourite use of a Web 2.0 tool in libraries?
5. What would you say to a group of staff about to embark on a Learning 2.0 / 23 Things programme?

Sites mentioned in the video are:

Posted by Librarian Kathryn at 12:10 PM 0 comments

Tuesday, September 11, 2007

Weekly workshops for library staff

There are 3 workshops per week providing a "walk through" of the week's tasks. As this programme is about Learning and not Training, you are expected to have read the tasks for the week and had a go at them before you turn up.

Workshops will be held in Room 1.015 unless specified:


Tuesdays 10 -11 (Amanda) :

  • 18 (Room 1.009), 25 Sept,
  • 16 (Room 1.009), 23, 30 Oct;
  • 13(Room 1.009), 20, 27 Nov 4 Dec.
Tuesdays 2-3 (Kathryn):
  • 18 (Room 1.009), 25 Sept;
  • 16, 23, 30 Oct;
  • 13(Room 1.009), 20, 27 Nov 4 Dec.
Fridays 2-3 (Kathryn):
  • 14, 21, 28 Sept;
  • 19, 26 Oct;
  • 2, 16, 23, 30 Nov.

Posted by Librarian Kathryn at 4:44 PM 0 comments

Workshops for TLC staff

I will be running some workshops especially for TLC staff who are doing the 23 Things. You are also welcome to join in the workshops for library staff.


21 September 11:30 – 1:30 FTLR

Minimum: Gmail, set up a blogger blog, updating progress online

If time: RSS feeds


26 October 11:30 – 1:30 FTLR

Minimum: Set up a pbwiki , set up a del.icio.us account

If time: comparison of Cite U Like, Connotea, using google documents and other google aps.


16 November 11:30 -1:30 Library 1.015

Creating your Second Life avatar, Doing more with you avatar


23 November 11:30 – 1:30 FTLR

Minimum: Get a flickr account, get a facebook account, get a twitter account

If Time: You Tube and Slideshare

Posted by Librarian Kathryn at 4:42 PM 0 comments

Sunday, September 9, 2007

September 10 - 16, week 1: Introduction


THING 1: Find out more about the 23 Things programme

Why? So you know what you are doing

The first activity for this week is to : read this blog and find out more about the programme. Most of you have probably already done this, but in case you haven’t, here are the important posts & pages to check out:



Stephen Abram's Murdoch Library 23 Things Launch video will be published on this blog after the last launch on Friday 15th September. Please watch it if you do not attend a launch.


THING 2: Find out about the 7 1/2 habits of highly successful lifelong learners

Why? To work out what you need to learn this well.

In the online tutorial, 7 1/2 habits of highly successful lifelong learners., Helene Blowers, who created the first 23 Things programme, outlines the 7 1/2 habits of successful learners and describes a useful tool to work out what you need to learn - the Learning Contract.

Here are the habits she mentions:

Habit 1: Begin with the end in mind

Habit 2: Accept responsibility for your own learning

Habit 3: View problems as challenges

Habit 4: Have confidence in yourself as a competent, effective learner

Habit 5: Create your own learning toolbox

Habit 6: Use technology to your advantage

Habit 7: Teach/mentor others

Habit 7 ½: Play


A Learning Contract is somewhere you can write goals, challenges, what you need in your learning toolbox and people who can help you achieve your goal.

If you are interested in knowing more, please watch the tutorial (it has audio). You can fast forward through and just read the slides.


Further Reading
PLCMC Learning 2.0 Program Notes:
PLCMC Learning 2.0 in the News:


IF YOU WANT MORE:

Browse the blogs created participants the ECU 23 Things.

Fun site for the week

I Can Has Cheezburger

Why the fun sites? Wait for week 5.

Posted by Librarian Kathryn at 8:51 PM 0 comments

Thursday, September 6, 2007

Launch sessions in Week 1

The launch sessions are next week. Even if you haven't registered, or are unsure, come along to view the launch video from Stephen Abram, Vice President of Innovation at Sirsi-Dynix, find out more about the 23 Things programme from Jean M and Kathryn and bring your questions with you.

Tuesday 11th September 10 -11 Minter Ellison Room 4.007
Tuesday 11th September 2 - 3 1.015
Friday 15 September 2-3 1.015


Posted by Librarian Kathryn at 8:45 PM 0 comments

Monday, September 3, 2007

10 ways to find time for 23 Things

This programme will take different people different amounts of time, according to:

  • how familiar you are with this kind of stuff
  • how quickly you learn new things
  • how motivated you are
  • whether it matches your leaning style

- so it is hard to say "this will take exactly an hour per week".

I can guarantee that by the end of the 13 weeks, you would be able to go back and do the first things in half or a third of the time. You are learning general skills about how to use web tools as well as 23 specific Things.

Where will you find the hour or so per week? Here's some starting points dealing with understanding why, finding support and maintaining motivation.

TEN WAYS TO FIND TIME FOR 23 THINGS

  • 1.Why? Think about what will happen to libraries if we don't understand these new tools.
  • 2. How are they used? Do a bit of googling about to find out how other libraries are using these tools to be more productive. Here is a good place to start: Library Success: a best practices wiki
  • 3. Cheat club. Talk to people in your section about forming a "cheat club" to work through the tasks together.
  • 4. Buddy up. Ask one of the mentors to "buddy up" to cheer you on.
  • 5. A sign. Put a sign up on your PC saying ""23 Thinging" when you are working on it, so other staff know not to interrupt you.
  • 6. Phone a friend. Arrange a "phone a friend" agreement with a teenager so you can ring them if you get stuck.
  • 7. Float you own boat .Work out what floats your boat - knitting, gardening, Ancient Egypt, trainspotting, photography, celebrity babies - and weave this theme into each activity.
  • 8.15 minutes per day. Set aside 15 minutes a day each afternoon, or before you open your email each day.
  • 9. A week at a time. Commit to the program a week at a time. Initially, just commit to the first week. If you find time for that, commit to just the second week. If you don’t complete all you need to do, then commit to getting Week 2 done by the end of Week 3. This is not a race.
  • 10. Rearrange your workflow. This program has support from management. If you have tried the things above and still can't find time, please talk to your supervisor about how you can re-arrange your workflow

Posted by Librarian Kathryn at 10:03 AM 0 comments

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