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 Uploading ....Your Questions Answered
Questions from Week 3 Evaluation
How can I make RSS feeds practical for my library?
Creating an RSS feed for your library should not be your main purpose. Instead, when you are looking at tools like blogs, wikis, or a Flickr account for your library, RSS is an added benefit that will allow your users to subscribe to updates from these services. It's more important that one of THOSE tools serve a practical purpose in your library. Now that you are aware of what RSS is, you know to make sure that the blog or wiki you select does have a RSS feed and you can make sure that the link to the RSS feed is clearly visible. EventKeeper is a calendar that many libraries in our region use. However, most people don't know that they can enable an RSS feed on there.
To build upon it a little further, you can also use your RSS feed to allow people to get e-mail updates to your blog. Most people still rely heavily on e-mail, and you'll probably find more luck in getting subscribers through e-mail. You can do this by using the FeedBurner service. FeedBurner can also allow you to republish the top headlines for a news blog, for example, on to your home page where it can be more visible. If anyone ever wants to work with FeedBurner, feel free to get in touch with me and I can walk you through it.
What was that whole thing about adding a post to my blog with semls20 tag?
When you do your weekly blog post, I'm asking that you tag the posts with the semls20 tag to show that it is related to the class. Tags are often used to identify blog posts, pictures, etc with a certain event, and I suppose you could consider this class an event. For example, when people blogged at the MLA conference a couple of weeks ago, they were asked to use a masslib09 tag. Those who uploaded photos to Flickr did the same and those who Tweeted the conference with Twitter used an id of #masslib09. Now try a Google search of masslib09 to see all of the information that was posted about the conference. Now check out a search of the semls20 tag.
Questions from Week 2 Evaluation
I would like to see more examples of
libraries integrating online services to train staff, to increase
library use and circulation, and to raise funds.
I will try to incorporate more examples for the upcoming lessons.
What would some of the pay upgrades
give my library. I would consider looking into these for services that
I find the most useful. Not sure how to rearrange photos in Flickr -
perhaps that is a feature that comes with the upgrade?
Oops! I accidentally answered this in the comments for the week. You can view the benefits of upgrading to a pro account at http://www.flickr.com/help/limits. And the best place to get a Flickr Pro account is at TechSoup.
However, the Pro account will not provide more ways for you to organize your photos. Flickr is much like a blog in that it places the most recently-added items to the top. However, there are a couple of ways you can organize your photostream. You can add tags to the photos and then just link directly to photos with a particular tag. Also, Flickr uses something called sets that allows you to display certain photos as a collection. You can create a set by clicking on the arrow next to the "Organize" button at the top of the screen and selecting "Your Sets." You then click the "Create a New Set" link and drag and drop photos into the set.
Questions from Week 1 Evaluation
Will this Wiki remain posted after the
course concludes? You have created an information rich Wiki and I would
love to return to it for review.
Yes, this wiki will remain as it is for probably a year. I will use another wiki the next time a teach a Learning 2.0 class, but will then return to this wiki for the class after that one. At the time, the information will be updated, and your comments, chat trascripts, etc. will be removed.
What is the best way to continue to develop more detail on the blog?
Lots of questions about the more advanced aspects of creating a blog - upgrades, tools, media, etc.
How do I make my Blog page look better? I tried to add a graphic and succeeded in making my banner black instead of blue.
I grouped these three questions together because they are related. When creating this lesson, I tried not to go too far beyond creating a post and using one of the WordPress templates because I didn't want it too overwhelming. Because you are really creating a "test" blog at the moment that will only be seen by me and your fellow class participants, who are also just learning how to blog, I encourage you to click on those links when you are logged into WordPress to see what is available. If you run into trouble or have specific questions about how to add something, be sure to post the question to the "Help" page because others are wondering how to do it too. Also, if you see something that another class participant did on their blog, feel free to ask them about it. I've found that participants can learn as much from each other as they do from me.
To get started on fine-tuning your blog, you may want to consult the following Help files from WordPress:
If you run into any trouble along the way, don't hesitate to ask for help.
How people find the time to blog regularly/in a timely manner?
How do you have enough time for this?
First, you need to make sure you are creating a blog to fill a need at your library. If it isn't filling a need, you won't feel the need to make time for it. And, as with any new program or service, you need to make the time to blog. To get into the habit of regularly blogging, you may need to mark time on your calendar each week that is set aside for blogging. Of course, things may come up at the time you scheduled for blogging, but then it's important to make sure you reschedule it. When I'm at MLA this week, I may run into some colleagues who blog regularly. I'll be sure to ask them for some tips and share them with the group.
Is it recommended to have students
comment to a high school library blog? I read in one of the articles
earlier in the week that students should not be allowed to make
comments.
This would be a great question for the general discussion on blogging because I would love to hear the perspective of others. My perspective is, yes, you should let them comment. It's a great opportunity for students to learn appropriate and inappropriate ways to interact online. As Will Richardson said in the "Blogomania!" article, "We're afraid of getting inappropriate comments, flaming, and so
forth. I would argue that it's our job to teach kids how to do that,
because at home they see all sorts of things we have no control of." If administrators have concerns about allowing students to comment, you could always set up the blog so that all comments need to be moderated before they are posted.
I am still wondering how to apply this new learning to my library.
It's good to keep thinking of ways to integrate these tools into your libraries, but, at the same time, you will not be able to use everything we review in this class in your library. As the class progresses, you most likely will find one or two that are your favorites and may be a good fit for your library.
What am I supposed to be doing now? I
think I missed something!! I'm sure I'm behind. The weekend zipped
right by and I never gave it a thought to check and make sure I've done
everything.
You'll start to notice a pattern with each week's assignments. During the beginning of the week, you explore the tool(s) that are being covered for the week. You then have one reading related to the tool's use in libraries and are asked to comment about your explorations and readings. The part that people often forget is going back to the wiki on Friday to read everyone else's comments and respond to those comments. Please remember to do this last step! This piece is what turns your earlier comments into real classroom discussion. Once you have responded to the discussion, you can then relax for the weekend (after completing the evaluation.)
My only question is my ability to provide interesting content. And to not be afraid to experiment with the blog.
How to make it engaging and really useful.
I wouldn't worry so much about making your blog interesting, but would focus more on making it relevant to your users. Once again, if you are using a blog to fill a real need in your library, it is more likely to be successful. And please feel free to experiment in this class. I like to think of this as a safe place to experiment. It is important to remember that your blog, like anything else on the Web, is out there for anybody to read. But, chances are, during the course of this class, the only people who will be reading it are me and your fellow participants, who are all learning to blog as well. I'll be there to provide assistance if you stumble along the way.
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