tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-59288924107376931202024-03-13T01:44:46.034-07:00TechPlay @ La Grange Public LibraryJeannieLibrarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00312885600316529078noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5928892410737693120.post-24675299903678783612009-04-14T06:43:00.000-07:002009-04-14T13:27:01.116-07:00Thing 16: Deleting Accounts<span style="font-family: arial;">Congratulations on finishing all 15 Things! The accounts you've created are yours to do with as you please. Hopefully, you've discovered some really great tools that you'll use at work and in your personal life. Some of them that you've learned about you'll be seeing used in the future at LGPL. Remember downloadable audiobooks? Well, they're coming to LGPL this summer so you'll be ready to use them! We also already offer RSS Feeds from our Events Calendar, instant messaging in YA, and pictures in Flickr. And you can't forget about podcasts, wikis, tagging, and Library Thing!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">For those accounts that you do not wish to keep, here are some instructions on how to delete them. Please be aware that </span><span style="font-weight: bold; font-family: arial;">deleting any of these accounts will delete any information that you have saved in them</span><span style="font-family: arial;"> such as bookmarks, blog entries, and documents. We didn't require you to create accounts for tagging (you just used your library card), downloadable audiobooks, podcasts, youtube, flickr, meebo, shelfari, or twitter. If you did set up an account for any of these and need help deleting it, please do not hesitate to ask Brooke in Tech services for help!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-family: arial;">To Delete all Google Services (Blogger, Google Reader, Google Docs, and Google Talk):<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span></span><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">If you don't want to delete all of these accounts, you can delete the information stored in each one. See the individual instructions below.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">1. Go to </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://www.google.com/">www.google.com</a><span style="font-family: arial;"> and sign in using your Google Account.</span><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">2. Click on "My Account." A list of your Google Products will appear.</span><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">3. Click on "Edit" next to My Products.</span><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">4. Select "Close account and delete all services and info associated with it". This is a permanent deletion of all your Google-associated accounts and stored information.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-family: arial;">To Delete Your Blogger Blog:<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family: arial;">1. Sign in to Blogger.</span><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">2. Be sure you are in the Dashboard.</span><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">3. Select "Settings" just below your blog title.</span><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">4. To the right of Blog Tools, select "Delete This Blog." This will permanently delete your blog and all posts contained within.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-family: arial;">To Delete Your Google Reader Feeds:<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family: arial;">This will only delete your feeds, not the account. Deleting your Google account is the only to remove your Google Reader account (see above). </span><span style="font-weight: bold; font-family: arial;"><br /><br /></span><span style="font-family: arial;">1. Go to </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://www.google.com/">www.google.com</a><span style="font-family: arial;"> and sign in using your Google Account.</span><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">2. Click on "My Account." A list of Google Products will appear.</span><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">3. Click on "Settings" next to Reader. </span><span style="font-weight: bold; font-family: arial;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: arial;">4. Select "Subscriptions".</span><span style="font-weight: bold; font-family: arial;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: arial;">5. Check the box to the left of each feed name and then select "Unsubscribe".</span><span style="font-weight: bold; font-family: arial;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br />To Delete Your Google Docs Documents:<br /><br /></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: arial;">1. Go to </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://www.google.com/">www.google.com</a><span style="font-family: arial;"> and sign in using your Google Account.</span><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">2. Under the More dropdown, select "Documents".</span><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">3. Check the box to the left of each document and the select "Delete".</span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-family: arial;">To Delete Your Google Talk Account:</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">1. This only deletes your icon in the task bar.</span><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">2. Right click on the Google Talk icon (it looks like a cartoon talk bubble) in the lower-right hand corner of your desktop. You may have to click the arrow to make it appear.</span><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">3. Click "Exit". The icon should no longer appear.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-family: arial;"></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-family: arial;">To Delete Your TaDaLists Account:<br /></span><span style="font-family: arial;"><br />1. Go to <a href="http://www.tadalists.com/">www.tadalists.com</a></span><span style="font-weight: bold; font-family: arial;"><a href="http://www.tadalists.com/"><span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span></a></span><span style="font-family: arial;">and login to your account.</span><span style="font-weight: bold; font-family: arial;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: arial;">2. To the right, select "cancel account".</span><span style="font-weight: bold; font-family: arial;"><br /><br />To Delete Your RememberTheMilk Account (not everyone set one up):<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: arial;">1. Login at <a href="http://www.rememberthemilk.com/"> www.rememberthemilk.com</a><br />2. Select "Settings" at the tp of the page.<br />3. At the bottom of the page, select "close your account".<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">To Delete Your MySpace Account (not everyone set one up):<br /><br /></span>1. Enter your login at<a href="http://www.myspace.com/"> www.myspace.com</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: arial;"> 2. Select "My Account" on the top-right of the screen.</span><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">3. Select "Account Cancellation"</span><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">4. Scroll to the bottom of the page and select "Cancel Account". MySpace will send you a confirmation email with a link to follow and confirm the cancellation request.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-family: arial;">To Delete Your Facebook Account (not everyone set one up):</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">1. Go to </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://www.facebook.com/">www.facebook.com</a><span style="font-family: arial;"> and login.</span><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">2. Under Deactivate Account, select "deactivate".</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-family: arial;">To Delete Your del.icio.us Account:</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">1. Login at http://delicious.com</span><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">2. Select "Settings" in the top-right corner</span><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">3. Under Account, select "Delete Account".</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-family: arial;">To Delete Your LibraryThing Account:</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">1. Send your </span><b style="font-family: arial;">Username and Password</b><span style="font-family: arial;"> to info@librarything.com, and write something like "please delete my account" in the subject line of your email.</span><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">2. You may also include in the body of the email why you are deleting the account.</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-family: arial;"><br /></span>Brookehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13249318995356178168noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5928892410737693120.post-36585564328110323532009-03-12T14:00:00.000-07:002009-03-14T14:51:44.132-07:00Thing 15: Twitter (Week of 3/23)<span style="font-family:arial;">This week's topic is <span style="font-weight: bold;">Twitter</span>.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">This last Thing will introduce you to the social networking source Twitter (but you won't be required to set up a Twitter account). Twitter is a way to send a brief, informational e-mail, or "tweet," to all of your contacts at once. Though extremely popular as a tool for mobile devices, Twitter is not meant to be a two-way conversation. It simply answers the question, "What are you doing?" Responses must be 140 characters or fewer. Twitter is being used by businesses, news sources and political campaigns (including Barack Obama's and Ralph Nader's) to provide information updates to their users, who have signed up to receive the tweets. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" >This week's Tech Play Exercise: </span><br /><ol><li><span style="font-family:arial;"><strong style="font-weight: normal;"></strong>Start at <a href="http://www.twitter.com/">http://www.twitter.com/</a></span><span style="font-family:arial;">.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;">View the "Twitter in Plain English" video by clicking on the red box in the upper right corner.</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><strong></strong></span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;"><strong style="font-weight: normal;"></strong>Go to the La Grange Public Library homepage. Scroll down the menu bar on the left. Let your mouse hover over "Young Adult Services" and select "YA Services Home." Note that Noël has added a Tweeter widget to the page. This allows Noël to provide brief, timely updates to teens who view the page.</span><br /></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Post a message to blog. Do you Twitter, or do you know anyone who does? Can you think of a useful application for Twitter?</span></li></ol><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">That's it! If you feel inspired, you can set up Twitter accounts with your friends and family so you can share...what you're doing.</span>deblibhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12462160525761452588noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5928892410737693120.post-71767708331172117342009-03-12T13:00:00.000-07:002009-03-14T14:57:00.868-07:00Thing 14: Instant Messaging / Meebo (Week of 3/16)<span style="font-family:arial;">This week's topic is <span style="font-weight: bold;">Instant Messaging</span>.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Instant Messaging (IM) is a brief, real-time tool which allows you to send short messages via the Internet--similar to texting, but on your computer. Of course, IM is only really "instant" if the person you are contacting is available at that moment--but you can determine that before you send a message. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Some libraries are using IM as another way to make contact with their patrons. For example, visit <a href="http://www.orlandparklibrary.org/ask.htm">http://www.orlandparklibrary.org/ask.htm</a> to see how Orland Park Public Library invites patrons to IM staff on their "Ask a Librarian" page, in addition to offering the more conventional methods of phone and e-mail. Here at La Grange Noël uses IM to keep in touch with her teen patrons. Take a look at <a href="http://www.lagrangelibrary.org/lagrange/yaservices.asp">http://www.lagrangelibrary.org/lagrange/yaservices.asp</a> and scroll down the page to see her IM widget.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" >This week's Tech Play Ex</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family:arial;">ercise</span>: </span><br /><p><span style="font-family:arial;">In this exercise you will set up an IM account and practice sending</span><span style="font-family: arial;"> a message.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><strong></strong></span></p><ol><li><span style="font-family:arial;">Set up a Google Talk IM account. Go to <a href="http://talk.google.com/">http://talk.google.com/</a>. Click on the blue Download Google Talk button. (If you have trouble, you may have to allow pop-ups by clicking on the pop-up toggle button on your tool bar.) Follow the steps on the Download Wizard. </span><span style="font-family:arial;">At the sign-in box, click on "Don't have an account." Fill in the required information for a user account. Create your "desired username." This is what your friends will see when you send them an IM. It's a good idea to scroll through the user agreement. </span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;"><strong></strong>Click on the Accept button. </span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;"><strong></strong> Read the information page if you want. Then Launch Google Talk. Look for the grey "word bubble" icon to appear on your task bar (in the lower right corner of your screen). The words "Google Talk" should appear when you let your mouse hover over the icon. (Hint: If you don't see the icon, click on the white arrow to see more options.)</span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;"><strong></strong> Now you're ready to add a Friend so you can begin IM-ing. Click on the "Add" button in the lower left corner. Type over the highlighted Sample Friend in the box by replacing it with <a href="mailto:lgpublib@gmail.com">lgpublib@gmail.com</a>. This will invite Noël to be your Google Talk Friend. When she opens her IM account and finds your invitation, she will accept and write back. </span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;">Post a message to your blog. Were you able to IM in real time to No</span><span style="font-family:arial;">ë</span><span style="font-family:arial;">l, or someone else on staff? (Real-time messages, faster than e-mail, are the real point of IM.) Did you find it handy?<br /></span></li></ol><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Note: Remember, with this account you can only IM other people who have set up G-mail<br />accounts through Google.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Challenge</span>:</span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;">If you want to IM friends who don't have Google IM accounts, you can use an aggregator such as Meebo. Wikipedia calls Meebo "an...instant messaging program which supports multiple IM services." Go to <a href="http://www.meebo.com/">http://www.meebo.com/</a> and click on "Sign Up Now." Enter a Meebo ID (the name you want your friends to see). Choose a password and confirm it. Keep in mind that you need to set up accounts with Yahoo, AIM, etc. (by clicking on those buttons and following their directions) if you want to IM with friends who have those accounts. Try this with a friend who has a non-Google account. You can IM Jeannie at her Yahoo account: dilgerh.<br /></span>deblibhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12462160525761452588noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5928892410737693120.post-19566558354293818732009-03-12T12:17:00.000-07:002009-03-14T15:12:23.801-07:00Thing 13: LibraryThing (Week of 3/9)<span style="font-family:arial;">This week's topic is </span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" >LibraryThing.</span><span style="font-family:arial;"> (To complete this lesson, you will need to bring in 5 books from your home library collection.) </span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br />LibraryThing, the “site for book lovers,” enables you to catalog your personal book collection, rate and review your books—online. In addition, you can connect with others who have similar taste in reading and find local book-related events, such as author book signings. You can add up to 200 books for free or pay a small fee to add unlimited amounts of books.</span> <span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" ><br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">This week's TechPlay exercise</span> is:</span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" ><br /><br />Step 1.</span><span style="font-family:arial;"> Go to </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://www.librarything.com">www.librarything.com</a><span style="font-family:arial;"> and take the <a href="http://www.librarything.com/tour/">tour</a>. </span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" ><br /><br />Step 2</span><span style="font-family:arial;">. Set up an account. </span> <span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" ><br /><br />Step 3.</span><span style="font-family:arial;"> Click on the tab “add books” to create your library. One easy way to do this is by using each book’s International Standard Book Number, or ISBN. This is usually found on the back of the book. Type the ISBN in the white search box. The title will appear in the box on the right. Click on the title, and your book is added to your library! Do this for 3 more of your books. </span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" ><br /><br />Step 4.</span><span style="font-family:arial;"> Another way to add a book is by title. Enter your last book by typing the title in the white search box. You’ll probably see more than one edition of the book in the box on the right. Scroll down through the titles until you see the edition you’re holding (cover and publication date are your clues). When you find your edition, click on it. Now it’s been added to your library. To delete any titles, simply hit the “delete book” icon next to your added title. You’ll be asked again in a pop-up box; just click “yes.” </span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" >Step 5.</span><span style="font-family:arial;"> Click on the tab “Your library.” Scroll down to see the books you’ve entered. This is the beginning of your library – congratulations!</span> <span style="font-family:arial;">Post an entry on your blog explaining how LibraryThing might (or might not not) be useful to you.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" >*Challenge Step:</span><span style="font-family:arial;"> Click on one of the titles. This leads to a ton of information about your book. On the left side of the screen, click on “member reviews.” Here you’ll find many reviews of this book. To add your own review, click “edit book” on the left side of the screen, and scroll down to the “your review” box. Click on the box and start typing. Remember to click on the green “save” button when you have finished. Also, be sure to click the “sign out” button at the end of your session, particularly if you are doing this exercise at work.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" >FYI </span><span style="font-family:arial;">– Another book cataloging and social networking site is found at </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://www.shelfari.com/">www.shelfari.com</a><span style="font-family:arial;">. Run by </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://amazon.com/">Amazon.com</a><span style="font-family:arial;">, it seems to focus more on popular fiction works and also seems to attract a younger, less discerning crowd.</span>nzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17913411113832956428noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5928892410737693120.post-16725338190298244782009-02-13T08:40:00.000-08:002009-03-14T14:46:18.236-07:00Thing 12: Social Bookmarking (Week of 3/2)<span style="font-family:arial;">This week's topic is </span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" >Social Bookmarking.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Social bookmarking allows Internet users to save web addresses to an account where they can organize, search, and share their bookmarks. This is different than just saving it to Favorites because it is accessible on any computer with any Internet browser. Users can tag bookmarks with descriptive words to help themselves and others find the web addresses. Some of the social bookmarking sites even recommend other sites people have bookmarked based on the web addresses and tags in your account. You can see how many times a tag has been used and look at all of the bookmarks to which that tag has been assigned to. Watch this video for a visual explanation:</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" ><br />Social Bookmarking in Plain English<br /></span><object style="font-family: arial;" width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/x66lV7GOcNU&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/x66lV7GOcNU&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Social bookmarking has been around for over 10 years, but didn't gain much popularity until del.icio.us popped up. Del.icio.us was the first site that allowed users to tag their web addresses. You may have heard of some of these other social bookmarking sites: Digg, Diigo, Furl, Ma.gnolia, Newsvine, Reddit, and StumbleUpon. Most of these sites allow you to make the bookmarks public or private. When they are made public, other users can see who created the bookmark. This can help your network of online friends grow. They may have bookmarks that would interest you. For this week's exercise, we'll use del.icio.us.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" >This Week's TechPlay Exercise : del.icio.us</span><br /><br /><ol><li><span style="font-family:arial;">Go to<a href="http://delicious.com/"> </a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.delicious.com"></a><a href="http://delicious.com/">www.delicious.com</a><br /></span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;">Click the green box in the top, right hand corner labeled "Join Now."</span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;">Fill out </span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >all</span><span style="font-family:arial;"> of the boxes. For username and passwords, you may want to try using the same ones as you have used for previous logins.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;">When you get to the next screen, click "Skip Step 2".</span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;">Skip the next screen as well so click "Skip Step 3".</span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;">Enter a web address (also known as a URL) in the box you wish to add to your saved bookmarks. If you can't thing of any to add, use www.lagrangelibrary.org, www.mls.lib.il.us (MLS), or www.loc.gov (Library of Congress). Click "Next".</span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;">Now you can add more information. You can make notes that you may want to remember about what on that particular website is useful to you. You can also add tags (remember those from Thing 11?). The tags will help you search for the bookmark. For www.mls.lib.il.us, you could add MLS, libraries, SWAN, meetings, workshops.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;">You can make the bookmark unsearchable by other users by checking the box "Do Not Share". You can also leave it searchable to help out other users.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;">Click "Save".</span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;">Note that at the bottom of the screen, you can add these bookmarks into your RSS Feeds!</span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;">You can keep adding bookmarks as you find new websites worth remembering!</span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;">Blog about social bookmarking. How do you feel about others being able to see what you've bookmarked? Do you have concerns about privacy issues?<br /></span></li></ol><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Challenge 1:</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Try using the network feature. Find a coworker who has done the previous exercise. Trade usernames with them and add the username to your network. You will be able to share bookmarks. You could use this when planning a family vacation. Bookmark a bunch of websites for ideas on where to go, share the bookmarks with family, and then everyone will have an easy way to access the list. You can also add notes like which time of year it is best to visit each location.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Challenge 2:</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">If you have websites already bookmarked at home or on a specific computer that you want to add to Del.icio.us, under settings in Del.icio.us learn how to import them. Now you'll be able to log into you Del.icio.us account and view your favorite websites no matter which computer or internet browser you're using.</span>Brookehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13249318995356178168noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5928892410737693120.post-18497818751142833592009-02-13T08:28:00.000-08:002009-02-17T10:52:08.723-08:00Thing 11: Tagging (Week of 2/23)<span style="font-family:arial;">This week's topic is <span style="font-weight: bold;">Tagging</span>.<br /><br />You may have heard of a tag before... and not the kind you look at when you're shopping. A tag in the Web 2.0 world is a description attached to a piece of information. Librarians have been tagging pieces of information for years. We call them subject headings. Assigning a tag to a piece of digital information is just like assigning a subject heading to a book.</span> <span style="font-family:arial;">There are two big differences between a librarian assigning a subject heading and a person assigning a tag. The first is that there are no rules for tagging to follow like the Library of Congress Subject Headings. You can tag whatever word you think is the most appropriate for the information. It may be the date and place a picture was taken or it may be keywords to describe the plot of a book. The second difference is that anyone can tag. You usually just have to log into an account whereas library catalogs do not allow patrons to add subject headings.</span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br />You've probably seen tags before. Amazon.com was one of the first websites to use tagging. Why pay someone to add descriptions when the users can add keywords and enjoy doing it? Last week you looked at pictures in Flickr. Users of Flickr will tag their pictures so other users can find them. This is how you are able to search for the term "flower". Flickr searches the tags of the pictures to find the ones using "flower" to provide search results.</span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br />Hopefully you have all had a chance to try Encore, SWAN's new catalog. You can tag in Encore which allows other users to see your descriptions. It provides more information on materials and gives patrons a collaborative environment to do it in. Have fun checking it out in this week's exercise!</span> <span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" ><br /><br />This Week's TechPlay Exercise:</span> <span style="font-family:arial;">You'll need your library card number and your pin. Your pin is the same as it was in the old catalog. If this is your first time signing into your account online, it will ask you to create a pin.</span> <ol><li><span style="font-family:arial;">First, go to <a href="http://swanencore.mls.lib.il.us/iii/encore/app">http://swanencore.mls.lib.il.us/iii/encore/app</a></span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;">Click "Login" in the upper-right hand corner.</span> <span style="font-family:arial;">Use your library card number and pin to login.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;">After you are logged in, you will be automatically returned to the search page. In the upper-right hand corner, it will say "Welcome, Doe, Jane M."</span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;">Search for any book or other material that you have already read/enjoyed.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;">Click on the title you have selected to tag.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;">Towards the bottom under Community Tags will be a box labeled "Add a Tag".</span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;">Type in your tag and click "Submit".</span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;">Your tag should appear under "Community Tags" and "My Tags". You can delete your tag by clicking the red "x" next to the tag if you have made a spelling error or simply wish to delete it.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;">Blog about your experience. Do you think this is something you will use? Where else have you seen tagging used?</span></li></ol><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" >Challenge: </span><span style="font-family:arial;">Have you noticed when you are composing one of your blog entries the area "Labels for this post"? Blogger is simply calling tags Labels. If you've added any information in there before, then you have tagged. Try tagging your blog for Thing 11, this will make it searchable for others to find.</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br /></span>Brookehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13249318995356178168noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5928892410737693120.post-85837711432532431972009-01-12T07:00:00.002-08:002009-01-22T10:24:02.634-08:00Thing 10: Flickr (Week of 2/9)<span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">This week's topic is <span style="font-weight: bold;">Flickr</span>.<br /><br />Digital cameras have made it much easier for us to take lots and lots of photos! But many of us are bad at remembering to download them to a computer or share them with friends. New photo sharing sites make it easier to do both.<br /><br />Here's a video on Online Photo Sharing in Plain English:<br /><object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://www.youtube.com/v/vPU4awtuTsk&rel=0" id="VideoPlayback" width="320" height="260"><br /> <param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/vPU4awtuTsk&rel=0"><br /> <param name="allowScriptAcess" value="sameDomain"><br /> <param name="quality" value="best"><br /> <param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF"><br /> <param name="scale" value="noScale"><br /> <param name="salign" value="TL"><br /> <param name="FlashVars" value="playerMode=embedded"><br /> <param name="wmode" value="transparent"><br /></object>Flickr is the most popular of the photo sharing sites. As you can see, Flickr gives you a way to back up your photos, organize them, and share them.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">This week's TechPlay Exercise:</span><br /><br />1. Go to <a href="http://www.flickr.com/">http://www.flickr.com</a> and search "LaGrange Library" Try it both with and without a space in the city name. Can you find our Flickr photos?<br /><br />2. See how various libraries are using Flickr by checking out some of our neighbors:<br /></span></span><ul><li><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Brookfield Public Library has some Flickr photos at <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/36819620@N00/">http://www.flickr.com/photos/36819620@N00/</a>.</span></span></li><li><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">See Thomas Ford's recent remodel at <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/thomasfordmemoriallibrary/">http://www.flickr.com/photos/thomasfordmemoriallibrary/</a>.</span></span></li><li><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">La Grange Park has put some photos on Flickr, then put them on their website at <a href="http://www.lplibrary.org/about/photos.php">http://www.lplibrary.org/about/photos.php</a>. </span></span></li><li><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">And from further afield, here's a whole group of libraries and librarians using Flickr: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/groups/librariesandlibrarians/">http://www.flickr.com/groups/librariesandlibrarians/</a>. </span></span></li></ul><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">3. Take a look at our own Flickr photos: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/lagrangelibrary/">http://www.flickr.com/photos/lagrangelibrary/ </a><br /><br />4. Post to your blog about today's exercise. Any suggestions for photos we should put on our Flickr account? Do you have digital photos of the library that you'd like to share?<br /><br /></span></span>JeannieLibrarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00312885600316529078noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5928892410737693120.post-72016561120079717882009-01-12T07:00:00.001-08:002009-01-22T09:27:52.929-08:00Thing 9: YouTube.com (Week of 2/2)<span style="font-family:arial;">This week's topic is<span style="font-weight: bold;"> YouTube</span>.<br /><br />YouTube.com is a host site for viral videos – that is, video clips that can be easily dispersed around the web. The sheer number of clips is staggering, but they are catalogued in various ways and it’s easy to browse by keyword. Users can post clips to the site, view them, and share them with others; it’s not necessary to have an account in order to view video clips. Warning: While this site is highly addictive, it does require high-speed Internet access.</span> <span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" ><br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">This week's TechPlay exercise</span>: </span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" ><br /><br />Step 1.</span><span style="font-family:arial;"> Go to </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://www.youtube.com/">www.youtube.com</a><span style="font-family:arial;">. In the white search box below the word “home,” type “noel zethmayr” and hit your keyboard’s “enter” key. Scroll down and click on “Book Talks – Blackthorn Winter.” View the video. </span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" ><br /><br />Step 2. </span><span style="font-family:arial;"> Return to the white search box, which is above the video you just watched. Now type in “gertie the dinosaur” and hit “enter.” On the task bar below the video, find the volume icon. To the right of the volume, find the “full screen mode” icon and click on it. View the video. (This is an excellent example of YouTube’s archival function; many old and obscure video clips can be found here.) </span> <span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" ><br /><br />Step 3. </span><span style="font-family:arial;">When the video is over, click the red "share" button on the upper left side of the screen. This should present you with two options. Click on "email this video" and send the video to <a href="http://www.blogger.com/ya@lagrangelibrary.org">ya@lagrangelibrary.org</a>. </span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" ><br /><br />Step 4. </span><span style="font-family:arial;"> Return to the white search box and type in any keyword you like (e.g. Sarah Palin, Disney, Marilyn Monroe, knitting). You'll find there are videos on almost every subject! Choose a video and watch it. (</span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" >Hint</span><span style="font-family:arial;"> -- if a video keeps "buffering," or stopping and starting, hit the "pause" key on the lower left side of the video screen. You'll see the red timer bar turn to pink as it crawls from left to right, loading the video. Wait until the video is loaded, then hit the "pause" key to resume playing.) </span> <span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" ><br /><br />Step 5.</span><span style="font-family:arial;"> Post an entry on your blog describing the video you chose, as well as your reaction. Have fun! </span>nzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17913411113832956428noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5928892410737693120.post-14349780433598979712009-01-12T07:00:00.000-08:002009-01-16T11:43:22.389-08:00Thing 8: Social Networking Sites (Week of 1/19)<div style="font-family:arial;">This week’s topic is <span style="font-weight: bold;">Social Networking Sites</span>.<br /><br />Social networking sites are online communication tools used by millions of people all over the world. Three of the most popular sites in the United States are MySpace, Facebook, and LinkedIn. People use social networking sites to share information about themselves and their interests, as well as music, videos, and pictures. All require users to sign up for an account, and in most cases users must be over the age of thirteen to use the site legally. This, however, does not stop the under thirteen crowd from using the sites, as age verification is nearly impossible.<br /><br />While these sites are immensely popular among teens and adults, some are not as wary as they should be about putting personal information out there in cyberspace for anyone who is at all tech-savvy to read. There have been recent reports of colleges and employers checking the major social networking sites before accepting or hiring individuals, not to mention kids being suspended from schools and other activities for appearing on their sites with pictures of them engaging in some underage drinking.<br /><br />Still, these sites offer great opportunities to keep in touch with friends and family who may be widely scattered, or to find people with similar interests. Through the network, it is also possible to get back in touch with long-lost friends or classmates. Here is a little bit about how the most popular sites work:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Social Networking in Plain English</span><br /><object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://www.youtube.com/v/6a_KF7TYKVc&rel=0" id="VideoPlayback" width="320" height="260"><br /><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/6a_KF7TYKVc&rel=0"><br /><param name="allowScriptAcess" value="sameDomain"><br /><param name="quality" value="best"><br /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF"><br /><param name="scale" value="noScale"><br /><param name="salign" value="TL"><br /><param name="FlashVars" value="playerMode=embedded"><br /><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><br /></object><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">This Week's TechPlay Exercise</span> – My Space<br />The original and most popular site until April 2008, when it came in #2 to Facebook.<br /><br /><ol><li>You can access MySpace by going to <a href="http://www.myspace.com/">http://www.myspace.com/</a> .</li><li>Once there, you can set up an account, or log in if you already have an account. Without having an account or logging in, you will already have access to many people’s information.</li><li>Try clicking on “Find People” on the task bar on top, and type in the name of someone or someplace you know, such as LaGrange Public Library. When you find it, find out if it is listed as "male" or "female", and its age.</li><li>See how many people have your name!</li><li>You can also search for people by school name, or look for people with similar interest in books, music, or movies. I do note that librarian is not one of the searchable careers. You can also “Browse People” and go looking for love, based on age, sex, and marital status. There are forums set up to put in your two cents on many topics from automotive to sports to television, as well as a place to post music and videos.</li><li>Post a message to your blog about privacy. How would you feel about posting this kind of private information to the web?<br /></li></ol><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Challenge Exercise One</span> - Facebook<br />Facebook began as a networking tool for college students, but it has grown and expanded to include people of all ages.<br /><ol><li>Access the website at <a href="http://www.facebook.com/">http://www.facebook.com/</a> , where you will have to set up an account if you would like to be able to see anyone else’s information. You need only enter the bare minimum of information, if you like.</li><li>Once you have created an account, you may log in with your e-mail address and chosen password.</li><li>Once logged in, you have the opportunity to create your profile and go looking for friends. Clicking on “Friends”, then on “Find Friends” brings up a screen that will walk you through finding people you may know. It will first suggest people who are in your e-mail address book. The more you have in your profile, the more suggestions it will make. For example, if you specified your elementary school, high school, and/or college, it will search for others who also put those schools in their personal profiles. For others to be able to access your whole page, you must agree to “friend” them. If you don’t agree, they can only see your thumbnail picture if you have one, and your name.</li></ol><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Optional Exercise Two</span> - LinkedIn<br />LinkedIn is aimed at a slighter older, more educated crowd than MySpace and Facebook, and promotes itself as a “Professional” network. To obtain access, go to <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/">http://www.linkedin.com/</a> and create an account. It will ask you to set up a profile which includes your educational background and place of employment. You will then be able to search people, jobs, or groups.</div>Nancyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06758722324867884405noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5928892410737693120.post-36562948221806980272008-12-15T12:09:00.000-08:002009-02-03T14:12:31.878-08:00Thing 7: To Do Lists (Week of 1/12)<div style="font-family:arial;"></div> <div style="font-family:arial;">This week's topic is <span style="font-weight: bold;">To Do Lists</span>.</div> <div style="font-family: arial;" face="arial">I know that you, like me, might usually scrawl your to-do lists on a scrap of paper and then either stuff them in your purse or pocket, or adhere them to your refrigerator with a magnet. Online listmakers allow you to be much more high tech in your approach to making to-do lists, shopping lists, and lists of just about anything you can think of. Even better, you can share your lists easily with others, or have your lists sent to you via e-mail, cell phone, or RSS feed. No more calling home from the grocery store when you forget your list, when you can read it on your cell phone!</div><br /><div face="arial"> </div><br /><div face="arial"></div><br /><div face="arial"><span style="font-weight: bold;">This Week's TechPlay Exercise: </span><br />One of the original and the easiest to use sites is Ta-da lists, found at <a href="http://www.tadalists.com/">http://www.tadalists.com/.</a> </div><br /><div style="font-family: arial;"> </div><br /><div style="font-family: arial;">Step One: </div><br /><div style="font-family: arial;">Go to <a href="http://www.tadalists.com/">http://www.tadalists.com/</a>. Sign up for a free account by clicking on the yellow box. You will be brought to a screen with the heading "My Lists." To make a list, click on Create a New List. You will have to make up a clever name for your list, like "Groceries" or "Things to do on Wednesday."</div><br /><div style="font-family: arial;"> </div><br /><div style="font-family: arial;">Step Two: </div><br /><div style="font-family: arial;"></div><br /><div style="font-family: arial;">Type the first item on your list in the box, then click below the box where it asks you to "add this item." Add as many items as you like. When finished, you may choose to edit your list, reorder your list if you would like your tasks or items in a different order, or share your list. If you decide to share your list, a new screen comes up. You may e-mail this list to yourself or to anyone else. You may also share your list with the entire world, if you so choose, by clicking the box where is says "yes, share publicly."<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Challenge</span><br /></div><br /><div style="font-family: arial;"></div><br /><div style="font-family: arial;">Optional Exercise 1: A slightly more complicated list making site is called <strong>Remember the Milk</strong>. Go to <a href="http://www.rememberthemilk.com/">http://www.rememberthemilk.com/</a> and create a free account. Once signed in, you have the option of entering tasks in multiple categories, such as personal, work, study, etc. You may create a contact list of people with whom you would like to share your lists. Once you have recorded some items on your task lists, you may assign them priority levels, share them, or send them.<br /><br /></div><br /><div style="font-family: arial;"></div><br /><div style="font-family: arial;">Optional Exercise 2: My current favorite of the list making sites is found at <a href="http://www.thingamalist.com">thingamalist.com</a>. It is not as complex as some of the other sites, and it is all about food, which I found appealing. Sign up for a free account, and you can find all kinds of recipes, put the ingredients you need for the recipes on a list, and send that list to your cell phone, or your spouse's cell phone. No more running that paper shopping list through the laundry!</div>Nancyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06758722324867884405noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5928892410737693120.post-31823790886933526332008-12-15T11:15:00.000-08:002009-01-20T08:41:36.108-08:00Thing 6: Podcasts (Week of 1/5)<span style="font-family:arial;">This week's topic is <span style="font-weight: bold;">podcasts</span>.<br /><br />A 'podcast' is a non-music audio or video recording that is distributed over the internet to portable players and personal computers. The distribution is what makes a podcast unique. It's also what makes a podcast powerful: interested listeners or watchers can subscribe and receive updates through RSS when new content is posted.<br /><br />Confused? Here's a video on Podcasting in Plain English:<br /><object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://www.youtube.com/v/y-MSL42NV3c&rel=0" id="VideoPlayback" width="320" height="260"><br /><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/y-MSL42NV3c&rel=0"><br /><param name="allowScriptAcess" value="sameDomain"><br /><param name="quality" value="best"><br /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF"><br /><param name="scale" value="noScale"><br /><param name="salign" value="TL"><br /><param name="FlashVars" value="playerMode=embedded"><br /><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><br /></object><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Find a Podcast</span><br /><a href="http://www.itunes.com/">iTunes</a>, free software from Apple, is the directory finding service most commonly associated with podcasts. It's tied to their online store, but podcasts are usually free - you can browse by topic or search by keyword. iTunes also includes an amazing capacity for actually downloading the content you subscribe to automatically. And anyone can submit content for inclusion.<br /><br />But what if you don't use iTunes? There are plenty of other options.<br /></span><ul><li><span style="font-family:arial;"><a href="http://odeo.com/">odeo.com</a><br /></span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;"><a href="http://podcastalley.com/">podcastalley.com</a> (Note: Some of the "featured podcasts" on the right are fairly risque, but there are plenty of others from which to choose.)</span></li></ul><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Library Applications</span><br />Libraries are using podcasting to post book reviews, stories, author visits, and other programs.<br />As one example, see Thomas Ford’s click-a-story: <a href="http://www.fordlibrary.org/children/clickastory/">http://www.fordlibrary.org/children/clickastory/</a>.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Other Applications</span><br />Any website can post a podcast. NPR fans might want to check out the NPR Podcast directory at <a href="http://www.npr.org/rss/podcast/podcast_directory.php">http://www.npr.org/rss/podcast/podcast_directory.php</a>. The New York Times also posts podcasts at <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/ref/multimedia/podcasts.html">http://www.nytimes.com/ref/multimedia/podcasts.html</a>.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">This Week's TechPlay Exercise</span><br /></span><ol><li><span style="font-family:arial;">Visit the podcast directory at </span><span style="font-family:arial;"><a href="http://odeo.com/">odeo.com.</a></span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;">Search in the box for a topic of interest (such as library, knitting, Chicago White Sox, or whatever strikes your fancy).</span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;">Click on an interesting podcast title. Wait for the ad to finish; then a screen will load with your chosen podcast.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;">Click on a "Recent Episode."</span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;">Press the pink and white play arrow to listen. Click the same button (now the Pause button) to stop. It's that easy! </span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;">You can search for more in the box at the top. Once you find one you like, add the RSS feed to your Google Reader (<a href="http://www.google.com/reader/">http://www.google.com/reader/</a>) account. (If you've forgotten how, here are the instructions for Google Reader: <a href="http://lgpltechplay.blogspot.com/2008/10/thing-2-rss-feeds-week-of-1124.html">http://lgpltechplay.blogspot.com/2008/10/thing-2-rss-feeds-week-of-1124.html</a>).<br /></span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;">Post a note to your blog: did you find any interesting podcasts?</span></li></ol><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span><span style="font-family:arial;">For a fun explanation of podcasts, watch this video from "Ask A Ninja." <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEmss2lg-ug">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEmss2lg-ug</a></span><br /><br /><br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/OEmss2lg-ug&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/OEmss2lg-ug&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Challenge</span></span>:<br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><br />Try listening to a podcast in iTunes. Every staff computer has the software downloaded, so just click on the icon from the desktop and get started. You don’t even have to sign in! After you have iTunes opened, click on iTunes Store in the left-hand column. You can search or browse for podcasts. You can even just double-click on a title and listen to it rather than downloading it. If you do download one, be sure to select one that is labeled as “get” rather than “subscribe”. Enjoy!</span><p></p>JeannieLibrarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00312885600316529078noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5928892410737693120.post-52936212861851015682008-11-14T15:03:00.000-08:002008-11-24T09:26:13.613-08:00Thing 5: Downloadable Audiobooks (Week of 12/22)<span style="font-family:arial;">This week's topic is <span style="font-weight: bold;">downloadable audiobooks</span>.<br /><br />You may have heard of downloadable audiobooks, because some of our patrons are asking for them already. These are the equivalent of books-on-tape (or books-on-CD), except that they are available to listen to on your computer, iPod, or other MP3 player.<br /><br />This week we will download and listen to an audiobook on the computer. The trickiest part is downloading the software first. Once you've got that installed, listening to the audiobook is not nearly as difficult.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">This Week's TechPlay Exercise:</span><br />Brookfield Public Library has graciously allowed us to try out their downloadable audiobooks. To do so, here are the steps.<br /><br />First, let's browse what's available.<br /></span><ol style="font-family: arial;"><li>Go to Brookfield Public Library's website, <a href="http://www.brookfieldpubliclibrary.info/">http://www.brookfieldpubliclibrary.info/</a>.<br /></li><li>On the right hand side, under Digital Downloads, click on <span style="font-weight: bold;">MyMediaMall</span>.</li><li>You'll see that they have audiobooks, video, and Adobe PDF eBooks. For today's exercise, we're going to download an audiobook. Browse through the audio collections by using the Fiction and Nonfiction links on the left, or the Audiobook sections in the middle of the page.<br /></li><li>You can tell what formats each title is available in by looking at the blue icons. </li></ol><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Now we're going to download and listen to a title. Because our temporary Brookfield Public Library Account only allows us to checkout five titles at a time, we've already checked out some books for you to choose from.</span><br /><ol style="font-family:arial;"><li>From any MyMediaMall screen, click on "<span style="font-weight: bold;">My Account</span>" at the top of the page.<br /></li><li>Select <span style="font-weight: bold;">Brookfield Public Library</span> from the drop down menu.</li><li>Click on "Brookfield Public Library users, click here to sign in", then enter the following barcode number: <span style="font-weight: bold;">20056000205581</span>. The password is simply a comma.</li><li>Once you're in, click on "<span style="font-weight: bold;">My Digital Bookshelf</span>" to see the titles we've got checked out. Select one you want to listen to.</li><li>Take a look at the titles we have checked out and choose one. Click the black "<span style="font-weight: bold;">Download</span>" link under the title you've chosen.</li><li>A window will pop up. Choose "OK."<br /></li><li>A dialog box will open that allows you to select the parts to download. They are numbered in order. Most audiobooks will be divided into four to ten parts of about 75 minutes each. To save time, you may only want to download the first part. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Uncheck the parts you don't want, then choose OK.</span></li><li>The downloading may take some time. Once the download is finished, the title will show up with the book jacket. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Double-click to play it</span>. It should start playing right away.</li><li>At the bottom, you can play around with some of the controls.<br /></li><ul style="font-family: arial;"><li>The red square is to stop.<br /></li><li>There is also a pause button, and arrows that will go forward or backward to the next chapter. </li><li>The next icon is to mute, and beside it is a slider to adjust the volume.</li><li>The next icon allows you to speed up or slow down the reader. Some listeners like to hear the audiobook slightly speeded up, for instance.</li></ul><li>When you feel like you've got the hang of it, you can close out of the book by clicking the X at the top right.<br /></li><li>Congratulate yourself! This may be one of our trickiest Things. Post a message to your blog about this experience. Do you think patrons would use this?<br /></li></ol>JeannieLibrarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00312885600316529078noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5928892410737693120.post-7518968842604735072008-10-31T11:50:00.000-07:002008-10-31T13:44:45.254-07:00Thing 4: Wikis (Week of 12/15)<span style="font-family:arial;">This week's topic is <span style="font-weight: bold;">wikis</span>.<br /><br />A wiki is a website that multiple people can edit easily. It's great for working together on documents, projects, and so on. For a simple explanation, see this video, Wikis in Plain English: <a href="http://www.commoncraft.com/video-wikis-plain-english">http://www.commoncraft.com/video-wikis-plain-english</a>.<br /><br /><object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://www.youtube.com/v/-dnL00TdmLY&rel=0" id="VideoPlayback" width="320" height="260"> <param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/-dnL00TdmLY&rel=0"> <param name="allowScriptAcess" value="sameDomain"> <param name="quality" value="best"> <param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF"> <param name="scale" value="noScale"> <param name="salign" value="TL"> <param name="FlashVars" value="playerMode=embedded"> <param name="wmode" value="transparent"> </object><br /><br />Where did the word "wiki" come from? According to Wikipedia, Ward Cunningham created the first wiki in 1995. His "WikiWikiWeb" lets software developers create a library of "software patterns." The name "Wiki" was inspired by the Hawaiian word <i>wiki</i> or <i>wiki-wiki</i>, which means "quick" and is often used as a term for taxis and airport shuttles. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">The most well-known example of a wiki is in fact the Wikipedia. It's an online version of an encyclopedia, where anyone (and everyone) can post and edit information. There's a great explanation of wikis in general and Wikipedia in specific at <a href="http://computer.howstuffworks.com/wiki.htm">http://computer.howstuffworks.com/wiki.htm</a>. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Sample Wikis in the Library Field</span><br />Libraries have started to use wikis for all sorts of topics. Here are a few examples you might want to check out.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:arial;"><a href="http://www.libsuccess.org/">http://www.libsuccess.org/</a> (Best Practices in Libraries)</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><a href="http://wikis.ala.org/readwriteconnect/index.php/ALA_wikis">http://wikis.ala.org/readwriteconnect/index.php/ALA_wikis</a><br /><a href="http://www.publicpbwikis.com/Library/Public_Library/">http://www.publicpbwikis.com/Library/Public_Library/</a> (Public Library wikis)<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">This Week's TechPlay Exercise</span><br /><ol><li><span style="font-family:arial;">Take a look at some of the wikis listed above.</span></li><br /><li><span style="font-family:arial;">Try your hand at posting to a wiki. Don't worry, we've already created a sample for you to try. At <a href="http://lgpl.pbwiki.com/">lgpl.pbwiki.com</a>, we've created a Staff Wiki.<br /></span></li><br /><li><span style="font-family:arial;">This week, you should receive (if you haven't already) an e-mail from do-not-reply@pbwiki.com, called "Invitation to Join lgpl." Click on the link to join.</span></li><br /><li><span style="font-family:arial;">Set up your account by creating a name and a password.</span></li><br /><li><span style="font-family:arial;">On the next screen, click on lgpl.pbwiki.com.<br /></span></li><br /><li><span style="font-family:arial;">You are now at the Front Page of our wiki. We've created two pages for you to edit, one on staff resources, and one for nametags. Click on each link to get to the page and read the instructions. You can edit each page and add your own information by clicking the "Edit" tab at the top.</span></li><br /><li><span style="font-family:arial;">Post a message to your blog about this week's exercise. Did you like wikis better than Google Docs for collaborating with others?<br /></span></li></ol><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Challenge</span>:<br />Want a challenge? Try creating your own wiki. We used PBWiki, a really simple, free wiki tool. At <a href="http://pbwiki.com/">http://pbwiki.com</a>, you can click on the green button to create a wiki. You have already created an account, and PBWiki will walk you through the process of choosing a name, color scheme, and so on.<br /><br /></span></span>JeannieLibrarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00312885600316529078noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5928892410737693120.post-14826818159197324912008-10-31T11:00:00.000-07:002008-10-31T13:44:25.112-07:00Thing 3. Online Applications (Week of 12/8)<span style="font-family:arial;"></span><span style="font-family:arial;">This week's topic is <span style="font-weight: bold;">online applications</span>.</span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br />An online application is a software program that is accessible over a network such as the Internet. The program is not saved on the user's computer, but it is remotely saved. The best example is email. If you use gmail, Yahoo!, AOL, or Hotmail, you're using an online application. You can access it from any computer without using any email program. Ever play </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://www.websudoku.com/">Sudoku</a> online? Ever browsed, bid, or bought something from <a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://www.ebay.com/">eBay</a><span style="font-family:arial;">? You've used an online application.<br /><br />You can check out a huge list of online applications at </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://www.webapplist.com/">The Unofficial Web Applications List</a><span style="font-family:arial;">.</span> <span style="font-family:arial;">Google Docs is an incredible online application that allows users to create documents (similar to Microsoft Word), spreadsheets (similar to Microsoft Excel), presentations (similar Microsoft PowerPoint), and forms (templates). It is </span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" >free</span><span style="font-family:arial;"> and all you need is a Google account. This online application allows you to share whatever you create with anyone you choose. And the best part is that multiple people can be editing a document at the same time and see the changes being made. Watch this video, </span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" >Google Docs in Plain English</span><span style="font-family:arial;">, for a more specific explanation.</span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br /><object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://www.youtube.com/v/eRqUE6IHTEA&rel=0" id="VideoPlayback" width="320" height="260"><br /><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/eRqUE6IHTEA&rel=0"><br /><param name="allowScriptAcess" value="sameDomain"><br /><param name="quality" value="best"><br /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF"><br /><param name="scale" value="noScale"><br /><param name="salign" value="TL"><br /><param name="FlashVars" value="playerMode=embedded"><br /><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><br /></object><br /><br />This can be a great tool for working on a Christmas letter with someone else. Maybe you want to include messages from your children or grandchildren in the letter. Share the document with them and they can go in and add to the letter.</span> <span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" ><br /><br />For this week's TechPlay exercise:</span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span><ol><li><span style="font-family:arial;">Go to: </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://docs.google.com/">http://docs.google.com</a><span style="font-family:arial;"> and login using the Google account you created during Thing 1.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;">Click "New" and then click "Document".</span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;">Type a quick message like "I love technology!"</span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;">Click "Save" (it's on the top right).</span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;">Click "Share" (also on the top right), then click "Share with others".</span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;">In the white box under "Invite People", type sieversb@lagrangelibrary.org. You're inviting Brooke Sievers to view your document. . . you can also write lots of nice things about Technical Services.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;">Click "Invite Collaborators"</span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;">A box will pop up where you have the option to send a message along with the invitation. You can use this box to send your name so we'll know who it's from.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;">Click "Send"</span> <span style="font-family:arial;">Now the recipient of the invitation has access to the document. As the creator, you have the power to end anyone's ability to view or edit documents. The recipient can only view and edit the document you invited them to so they'll never be able to see other ones you wish to keep private.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;">Don't forget to post a message to your blog about this week's experiences! Will you use this tool in your personal life?</span></li></ol> <br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Challenge</span>:</span> <span style="font-family:arial;">Find a friend at the library who is also working on GoogleDocs. Invite them to view the document you created in this exercise. Both of you sign into your Google accounts and edit the same document at the same time.</span>Brookehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13249318995356178168noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5928892410737693120.post-70101669332859943562008-10-31T10:00:00.000-07:002008-11-19T11:58:01.573-08:00Thing 2: RSS Feeds (Week of 11/24)<span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">This week's topic is <span style="font-weight: bold;">RSS Feeds</span>.<br /><br />Last week, we looked at blogs. Maybe you found some blogs that you'd like to read on a regular basis. But the problem is, how do you know when that blog has been updated? Do you have to go to all your favorite blogs every day to see if there is a new post?<br /><br />Enter RSS. It technically stands for Really Simple Syndication, but some people find it easier to think of it as Really Simple Subscription. Sometimes known as an RSS Feed, RSS is a way for you to subscribe to your favorite blogs, and be notified when they are updated. Rather than notifying you by e-mail, instead you log in to something called an RSS Reader or Feed Reader. An RSS Reade</span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">r will check all your blogs and let you know how many new posts are available since you last checked. You can then read them right there in the RSS Reader, or go to the blogs. Examples of RSS </span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Readers include <a href="http://www.bloglines.com/">Bloglines</a>, <a href="http://my.yahoo.com/">My Yahoo</a>, and <a href="http://www.google.com/reader/">Google Reader</a>.<br /><br />To view a simple explanation of RSS, view the video RSS in Plain English:<br /><br /><object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://www.youtube.com/v/0klgLsSxGsU&rel=0" id="VideoPlayback" width="320" height="260"> <param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/0klgLsSxGsU&rel=0"> <param name="allowScriptAcess" value="sameDomain"> <param name="quality" value="best"> <param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF"> <param name="scale" value="noScale"> <param name="salign" value="TL"> <param name="FlashVars" value="playerMode=embedded"> <param name="wmode" value="transparent"> </object><br /><br />The great thing is, RSS doesn't just apply to blogs. Many websites allow you to subscribe to their RSS feed, to be notified when the webpage is updated. Online calendars will also let you subscribe, to be notified when a new event is added to the calendar.<br /><br />Wondering if a site has an RSS feed? You can usually tell by looking toward the bottom of the page (or along a sidebar) for an icon like this </span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj2xoI_fchlq72HcMa8277gzIjsP0uEerR28JF8V-mJ7NQHjMj0WL51ZmEB8Emj2H8li5otTOUVsWMh_BhX78MYEkGNjddqjf7MDcK2O-8xo9K6vrPNJ8j2kmTKE_T_A_rzCCw6SnkJVUD/s1600/feed-icon-14x14.png"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 14px; height: 14px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj2xoI_fchlq72HcMa8277gzIjsP0uEerR28JF8V-mJ7NQHjMj0WL51ZmEB8Emj2H8li5otTOUVsWMh_BhX78MYEkGNjddqjf7MDcK2O-8xo9K6vrPNJ8j2kmTKE_T_A_rzCCw6SnkJVUD/s1600/feed-icon-14x14.png" alt="" border="0" /></a> <span style="font-family:arial;">or like this</span> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilYY1fj-b2isnOp1sOYXl9c82wFtPmXzWialof4RZeiMG8dI1BLMpakxlFiAk0n42djWt3mh-oRaBp32_1QNYyDHFIym9ya3RasFxvCKxpqfqF5By_gzLSKU9rdBypZl0DvUiKpOPhNb0/s1600/xmlrssfeed.gif"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 36px; height: 14px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilYY1fj-b2isnOp1sOYXl9c82wFtPmXzWialof4RZeiMG8dI1BLMpakxlFiAk0n42djWt3mh-oRaBp32_1QNYyDHFIym9ya3RasFxvCKxpqfqF5By_gzLSKU9rdBypZl0DvUiKpOPhNb0/s1600/xmlrssfeed.gif" alt="" border="0" /></a>.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" >Sample RSS Feeds</span> <span style="font-family:arial;">Lots of online newspapers offer RSS Feeds. The New York Times has a wide range of RSS feeds; you can see them all at </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://www.nytimes.com/services/xml/rss/">http://www.nytimes.com/services/xml/rss/</a><span style="font-family:arial;">.</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Locally, you can get RSS feeds for The Doings (<a href="http://www.pioneerlocal.com/hinsdale/rss/index.html">http://www.pioneerlocal.com/hinsdale/rss/</a>) or Suburban Life (<a href="http://www.mysuburbanlife.com/lagrange/feeds">http://www.mysuburbanlife.com/lagrange/feeds</a>).</span><span style="font-family:arial;"> Two local bloggers blog about La Grange events. Thom Rae has a blog called LaGrange Today (</span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://everythinglagrange.typepad.com/">http://everythinglagrange.typepad.com/</a><span style="font-family:arial;">). OnLaGrange.com is a new "online newspaper" with a number of blogs on news, sports, and more. (</span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://onlagrange.com/index.php?mod=blogs">http://onlagrange.com/index.php?mod=blogs</a><span style="font-family:arial;">). </span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" >Libraries Using RSS</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Lansing Public Library has an RSS Feed of upcoming events: </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://engagedpatrons.org/Events.cfm?SiteID=9548">http://engagedpatrons.org/Events.cfm?SiteID=9548</a><span style="font-family:arial;">.</span> <span style="font-family:arial;">Brookfield Public Library has an RSS Feed of news: </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://www.brookfieldpubliclibrary.info/news">http://www.brookfieldpubliclibrary.info/news</a><span style="font-family:arial;">. </span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br />And here at LGPL, Noel Zethmayr's blog, Teenscape LaGrange, has an RSS feed: </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://www.lagrangeblogs.com/teenscape/">http://www.lagrangeblogs.com/teenscape/</a><span style="font-family:arial;">. </span><span style="font-family: arial;">With our recent upgrade of our eVanced Calendar software, patrons can even subscribe to an RSS feed of our events and programs </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://events.lagrangelibrary.org/evanced/lib/eventcalendar.asp">(http://events.lagrangelibrary.org/evanced/lib/eventcalendar.asp</a><span style="font-family: arial;">). </span><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">This Week's TechPlay Exercise:</span><br />Today we'll create a Google Reader account (using the Google Account you set up last week). We'll add some RSS feeds for some blogs to your account. </span></span><ol style="font-family:arial;"><li><span style="font-size:100%;">Open another window or tab and go to Google Reader (<a href="http://www.google.com/reader/">http://www.google.com/reader/</a>).</span></li><li><span style="font-size:100%;">Login using the e-mail address and password you set up last week.</span></li><li><span style="font-size:100%;">Using the "Add subscription" link about halfway down on the lefthand side, </span><span style="font-size:100%;">we will add the RSS Feed for this TechPlay blog. Click on "Add subscription."<br /></span></li><li><span style="font-size:100%;">Go back to this window and click on the <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj2xoI_fchlq72HcMa8277gzIjsP0uEerR28JF8V-mJ7NQHjMj0WL51ZmEB8Emj2H8li5otTOUVsWMh_BhX78MYEkGNjddqjf7MDcK2O-8xo9K6vrPNJ8j2kmTKE_T_A_rzCCw6SnkJVUD/s1600/feed-icon-14x14.png"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 14px; height: 14px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj2xoI_fchlq72HcMa8277gzIjsP0uEerR28JF8V-mJ7NQHjMj0WL51ZmEB8Emj2H8li5otTOUVsWMh_BhX78MYEkGNjddqjf7MDcK2O-8xo9K6vrPNJ8j2kmTKE_T_A_rzCCw6SnkJVUD/s1600/feed-icon-14x14.png" alt="" border="0" /></a> Posts link on the top left (you may have to scroll up). Choose "Add to Google." On the next screen, choose "Add to Google Reader."<br /></span></li><li><span style="font-size:100%;">Great! You did it! Now we'll add some additional blogs to your account. There are two ways to do this:</span></li><ul><li><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Using the "Add subscription" link, type in some keywords to find some blogs. Choices will appear on the right. Choose one and click on "subscribe." OR<br /></span></span></li><li><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">If you know of a specific blog you want to subscribe to, open the blog in another window. Find the RSS link to subscribe. When you click on the RSS link, it will open a new page. Copy the URL from the top of your browser, then go back to Google Reader and paste it in the "Add subscription" box.<br /></span></span></li></ul><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><li><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" >As a final step, post a message to your own blog (that you created last week) talking about your experiences. Was this easy, or hard?</span></li></ol><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><br />If you're having trouble, you might want to watch the video above again. And don't forget to ask for help from your TechPlay Team: Brooke, Nancy K, Debbie, Noel, Bridget, and Jeannie.<br /></span></span>JeannieLibrarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00312885600316529078noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5928892410737693120.post-11620753576514838902008-10-31T09:00:00.000-07:002008-11-09T12:01:04.163-08:00Thing 1. Blogs and Blogging (Week of 11/17)<span style="font-family:arial;">This week's topic is <span style="font-weight: bold;">blogs</span>.<br /><br />A <span style="font-weight: bold;">blog</span>, short for <span style="font-weight: bold;">weblog</span>, is simply a way to post your thoughts, writings, interests, and rants for all the world to see. And read. You can link to other sites on your blog, and add pictures, too. The first part of this lesson will give you a glimpse of what other people have done with their blogs, especially with regard to libraries and books. In the second part of the lesson, you'll set up a Google account, which will allow you to do the third part of the lesson -- create your own blog.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">This Week's TechPlay Exercise:</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Step 1.</span> Open your browser (the library uses either Firefox or Internet Explorer), and in the address bar, type <a href="http://ricklibrarian.blogspot.com/">ricklibrarian.blogspot.com</a>. This is the blog maintained by Rick Roche, the Head of Reference Services at Thomas Ford Memorial Library. As you can see, he has information about himself, including photos. Along the right side of the screen, you can click on "Library news and reviews" to find out more about a variety of subjects, as well as links to other blogs. You can also see his blog entries archived by date. Take a look at some entries, and feel free to post a comment.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Step 2. </span>Now go to <a href="http://bookbitch.com/">bookbitch.com</a>. This site, also devoted to books, is maintained by a circulation clerk at a public library in southern Florida. Click around on the different tabs (at the top of the webpage), such as "win books" and "virgins" (which highlights new authors). As you can see, this site is a rich source of book reviews.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Step 3.</span> Now that you've seen some examples of blogs, it's time to <span style="font-weight: bold;">create your own!</span> Start by going to <a href="http://blogger.com/">blogger.com</a>. (Google.com owns Blogger.com, so this will be your Google account.) In the upper right-hand corner of the screen, click on the "sign in" button. On the next screen, the lower blue box on the right-hand side says "Don't have a Google Account? Create an account now." Click on this blue box. This takes you to a new page, where you'll set up your account. Fill out each of the boxes:<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">A</span>. In the first box, enter your library email address (e.g. zethmayrn@lagrangelibrary.org).<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">B.</span> In the second, re-type your address.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">C</span>. I</span><span style="font-family:arial;">n the third box</span><span style="font-family:arial;">, choose a password (this should be a combination of letters and numbers that YOU will remember), and type it in.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">D</span>. in the fourth box, type the password again.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">E</span>. In the fifth box, choose a display name. </span><span style="font-family:arial;">This is your signature for your blog posts.</span><span style="font-family:arial;">Type it in</span>.<br /><span style="font-family:arial;"> <span style="font-weight: bold;">F</span>. In the seventh box, </span><span style="font-family:arial;"> type in the twisty letters you see. This is called "word verification," and it cuts down on spamming by insuring that you are a living human being, not a web-bot. If the letters are too weird and you make a mistake, another twisty word will be shown. Try that one.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">G</span>. </span><span style="font-family:arial;">Click to agree to the terms of use, then click "continue."</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Step 4.</span> Go back to <a href="http://blogger.com/">blogger.com</a>. The computer should now recognize you, and you should see your email address in the upper right-hand corner of the screen. If not, in the upper right corner, enter your username (which is your email address) and password. Click "sign in."<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span><span style="font-weight: bold;">Step 5. Name your blog.</span> First you'll be asked to provide a blog title. This is the name of your blog. Next, choose a blog address, and type it in. (You'll probably have to try a couple of addresses before you find a free one.) This is the address people will use to find your blog.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Step 6. Choose a template.</span> Using the scrollwheel on your mouse, or by clicking and dragging the scrollbar on the right side of the screen, scroll down the list of templates and choose your favorite. If you don't like it, you can always change it later. You can see what the template will look like fullscreen by clicking on "preview template." Click in the circle below the template to choose it. Click "continue."<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Step 8. Start blogging!</span> Type in a title for your first blog post (like "Books I'm reading now"), then move to the large text box and type your first post. Click on "publish post" at the bottom of the screen to make your posts "go live" on the web.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Step 9. </span> Click on "view blog" at the top of the screen. Now you can <span style="font-weight: bold;">see your blog! </span>Congratulations! You will be posting to this blog throughout the course. It is intended to be a place for you to comment on the coursework (courseplay?), as well as a place to share your thoughts in general. Please e-mail the URL (website address) of your blog (it will look like this: <span style="font-weight: bold;">http://[your blog name here].blogspot.com/</span>) to us at <a href="mailto:techplay@lagrangelibrary.org">techplay@lagrangelibrary.org</a>. (We will not share the address with anyone.)<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">FYI</span> -- What you've just done has scratched the surface of your blog's possibilities. You can do much more with your blog, especially as you learn new tools during this course.</span>nzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17913411113832956428noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5928892410737693120.post-54673958891186013112008-10-30T13:42:00.000-07:002009-03-14T14:48:37.061-07:00Handy List of the 15 Things<span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Here's a handy list of the 15 Things. As the Things are posted, we'll add links to this page to make it easier for you to find them.<br /><br /></span></span><ul><li><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Thing 1: <a href="http://lgpltechplay.blogspot.com/2008/10/thing-1-blogs-and-blogging-week-of-1117.html">Blogging</a> Week of 11/17</span></span></li><li><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Thing 2: <a href="http://lgpltechplay.blogspot.com/2008/10/thing-2-rss-feeds-week-of-1124.html">RSS Feeds</a> Week of 11/24 </span></span></li><li><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Catch-Up Week: 12/1</span></span></li><li><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Thing 3: <a href="http://lgpltechplay.blogspot.com/2008/10/thing-3-online-applications-week-of-128.html">Online Applications</a> Week of 12/8</span></span></li><li><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Thing 4: <a href="http://lgpltechplay.blogspot.com/2008/10/thing-4-wikis-week-of-1215.html">Wikis</a> Week of 12/15</span></span></li><li><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Thing 5: <a href="http://lgpltechplay.blogspot.com/2008/10/thing-5-downloadable-audiobooks-week-of.html">Downloadable Audiobooks</a> Week of 12/22 </span></span></li><li><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Catch-Up Week: 12/29 </span></span></li><li><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Thing 6: <a href="http://lgpltechplay.blogspot.com/2008/12/thing-6-podcasts-week-of-15.html">Podcasts </a>Week of 1/5</span></span></li><li><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Thing 7: <a href="http://lgpltechplay.blogspot.com/2008/12/thing-7-to-do-lists-week-of-112.html">To Do Lists</a> Week of 1/12</span></span></li><li><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Thing 8: <a href="http://lgpltechplay.blogspot.com/2009/01/thing-8-social-networking-sites-week-of.html">MySpace/Facebook</a> Week of 1/19</span></span></li><li><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Catch-up Week:1/26</span></span></li><li><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Thing 9: <a href="http://lgpltechplay.blogspot.com/2008/10/thing-9-youtubecom-week-of-126.html">YouTube</a> Week of 2/2 </span></span></li><li><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Thing 10: <a href="http://lgpltechplay.blogspot.com/2009/01/thing-10-flickr-week-of-22.html">Flickr </a>Week of 2/9 </span></span></li><li><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Catch-up Week: 2/16</span></span></li><li><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Thing 11: <a href="http://lgpltechplay.blogspot.com/2009/02/thing-11-tagging-week-of-223.html">Tagging </a>Week of 2/23</span></span></li><li><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Thing 12: <a href="http://lgpltechplay.blogspot.com/2009/02/thing-12-social-bookmarking-week-of-32.html">Del.icio.us</a> Week of 3/2</span></span></li><li><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Thing 13: <a href="http://lgpltechplay.blogspot.com/2008/10/thing-13-librarything-week-of-39.html">Library Thing/Shelfari Week</a> of 3/9</span></span></li><li><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Thing 14: <a href="http://lgpltechplay.blogspot.com/2009/03/thing-14-instant-messaging-meebo-week.html">IM/Meebo</a> Week of 3/16</span></span></li><li><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Thing 15: <a href="http://lgpltechplay.blogspot.com/2009/03/thing-15-twitter-week-of-323.html">Twitter</a> Week of 3/23 </span></span></li></ul>JeannieLibrarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00312885600316529078noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5928892410737693120.post-48822258993446979492008-10-30T08:39:00.000-07:002008-10-31T11:22:36.626-07:00Introduction to TechPlay<span style="font-family:arial;">Welcome to <span style="font-weight: bold;">TechPlay@La Grange Public Library</span>!</span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br />How many times have you heard or read of a new computer term -- like </span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >wiki</span><span style="font-family:arial;">, </span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >podcast</span><span style="font-family:arial;">, </span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >RSS feed</span><span style="font-family:arial;">, or </span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >blog </span><span style="font-family:arial;">-- and wondered "What is that thing?"</span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br />Have you ever listened to a newscast and heard a reference to </span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >YouTube </span><span style="font-family:arial;">or </span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >Twitter </span><span style="font-family:arial;">and thought -- "I've </span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >heard </span><span style="font-family:arial;">of that, but what </span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >is </span><span style="font-family:arial;">it?"</span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br />You are about to embark on a learning journey, one that will not only answer your questions, but will introduce you to some fun -- and free -- new computer tools that you may want to use in your personal lives.<br /><br />There is no pressure to become an expert, but you will perform some tasks to help you become familiar with these tools.</span> <span style="font-family:arial;">We've called these tools Things, and have set up a self-paced, 19-week tutorial for you to follow. Each lesson should take approximately 30 minutes, and can be done at work. We encourage sharing and collaboration -- it's not cheating, it's group learning! -- and questions are more than welcomed.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">We realize that learning new things can be a daunting prospect (but exhilarating, too!), so we've sweetened the deal: Every staff member who completes the 15 Things will be rewarded with a $5 gift card to a local merchant, and will be entered in a drawing to win a prize worth $50. </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">But the real reward will come from being able to answer your questions, and patrons' questions, about Web 2.0 tools.<br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">So don't be </span></span><span style="font-family:arial;">scared. If you're stuck, or confused, or frustrated, just ask for some help. You can ask any member of the TechPlay Team: Bridget, Brooke, Debbie, Nancy K, Noel, and Jeannie. Or e-mail us at <a href="mailto:techplay@lagrangelibrary.org">techplay@lagrangelibrary.org</a>. We've been just as stuck, confused, and frustrated while we created the tutorial, so we really understand. And above all...have fun!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">We'll begin with <add style="font-family: arial;" link="" to="" first="" post="" here=""></add></span><span style="font-family:arial;">our <a href="http://lgpltechplay.blogspot.com/2008/10/thing-1-blogs-and-blogging-week-of-1117.html">first lesson, blogs</a>!</span>nzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17913411113832956428noreply@blogger.com0