Lessons from Learning 2.0

Michael Stephens has recently written a great post about the Learning 2.0 program on LibraryJournal.com:

It’s been five years since Helene Blowers and the staff at the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library, NC, debuted Learning 2.0—a self-directed exploration of emerging technologies shared via a Creative Commons license. The program has been touted as transformational for libraries—a method of moving libraries forward into a future of 21st-century innovation. Blowers noted on her blog, librarybytes, in 2009 that close to 1000 institutions worldwide had offered some form of the program...

...Fostering a true “learning organization” is not done in just ten or 12 weeks, but the seeds planted by Learning 2.0 can prove fruitful if nurtured. Libraries that have offered Learning 2.0 are best served by continued exploration via more “things” offered monthly... [emphasis added]

Read the full article on LibraryJournal.com

Thing #50: TED

We’ve got a lot of great things planned for Nebraska Learns 2.0 in 2012 but to end 2011, given everyone being so busy with the holidays, we figured we’d end the year with an easier thing, yet still very educational: TED videos.
I’ve been watching TED videos for several years now and I rarely see one that isn’t educational, entertaining, or inspirational. Some of them are all three.
Here’s the basics of what TED is all about:

TED is a nonprofit devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. It started out (in 1984) as a conference bringing together people from three worlds: Technology, Entertainment, Design. Since then its scope has become ever broader. Along with two annual conferences -- the TED Conference in Long Beach and Palm Springs each spring, and the TEDGlobal conference in Edinburgh UK each summer -- TED includes the award-winning TEDTalks video site, the Open Translation Project and TED Conversations, the inspiring TED Fellows and TEDx programs, and the annual TED Prize.
The annual TED conferences, in Long Beach/Palm Springs and Edinburgh, bring together the world's most fascinating thinkers and doers, who are challenged to give the talk of their lives (in 18 minutes or less).
On TED.com, we make the best talks and performances from TED and partners available to the world, for free. More than 900 TEDTalks are now available, with more added each week. All of the talks are subtitled in English, and many are subtitled in various languages. These videos are released under a Creative Commons BY-NC-ND license, so they can be freely shared and reposted.
Our mission: Spreading ideas.
We believe passionately in the power of ideas to change attitudes, lives and ultimately, the world. So we're building here a clearinghouse that offers free knowledge and inspiration from the world's most inspired thinkers, and also a community of curious souls to engage with ideas and each other. This site, launched April 2007, is an ever-evolving work in progress, and you're an important part of it. Have an idea? We want to hear from you.
The springtime TED Conference, held annually in Long Beach and simulcast in Palm Springs, is at the heart of TED. More than a thousand people now attend -- indeed, the event sells out a year in advance -- and the content has expanded to include science, business, the arts and the global issues facing our world. Over four days, 50 speakers each take an 18-minute slot, and there are many shorter presentations, including music, performance and comedy. There are no breakout groups. Everyone shares the same experience. It shouldn't work, but it does. It works because all of knowledge is connected. Every so often it makes sense to emerge from the trenches we dig for a living, and ascend to a 30,000-foot view, where we see, to our astonishment, an intricately interconnected whole.
TEDActive features a live simulcast of the Long Beach conference, in fabulous Palm Springs, with an emphasis on connection, conversation and creation.
TEDGlobal is TED's twin conference. It was held in Oxford, UK, in 2005, 2009 and 2010, and in Arusha, Tanzania, in 2007. TEDGlobal is now held annually in Edinburgh, UK, each summer. The themes of the global conference are slightly more international in nature, but the full TED format is maintained.
TED also hosts events around the globe.TEDIndia was held in November 2009 in Mysore, India, celebrating and exploring the beckoning future of South Asia. TEDWomen was held in December 2010 in Washington, DC, asking the question: How are women and girls reshaping the future? TED also hosts smaller events around the globe, including many TED Salons, evening-length events with speakers and performers, and TED@ events, exploring a topic or location.
The TED Prize is designed to leverage the TED Community's exceptional array of talent and resources. It is awarded annually to an exceptional individual who receives $100,000 and, much more important, the granting of "One Wish to Change the World." After several months of preparation, the wish is unveiled at an award ceremony held during the TED Conference. Over the life of the prize, wishes have led to collaborative initiatives with far-reaching impact.
TEDTalks began as a simple attempt to share what happens at TED with the world. Under the moniker "ideas worth spreading," talks were released online. They rapidly attracted a global audience in the millions. Indeed, the reaction was so enthusiastic that the entire TED website has been reengineered around TEDTalks, with the goal of giving everyone on-demand access to the world's most inspiring voices.
The TED Fellows helps world-changing innovators from around the globe become part of the TED community and, with its help, amplify the impact of their remarkable projects and activities. TED Fellows, TEDGlobal Fellows, and TED Senior Fellows are drawn from many disciplines that reflect the diversity of TED's members: technology, entertainment, design, the sciences, the humanities, the arts, NGOs, business and more.
The TEDx program gives communities, organizations and individuals the opportunity to stimulate dialogue through TED-like experiences at the local level. TEDx events are planned and coordinated independently.
The TED Open Translation Project brings TEDTalks beyond the English-speaking world by offering subtitles, interactive transcripts and the ability for any talk to be translated by volunteers worldwide. We launched the project with more than 250 translations, 50 languages and 100 volunteer translators; one year on, there are more than 21,000 completed translations from our thousands-strong community. It's an ambitious project that radically enhances the accessibility of the talks -- for the hearing-impaired, for those who speak English as a second language, for search engines (which can now index the full transcript of a talk), and of course for the vast audience of non-English speakers worldwide.
Today, TED is best thought of as a global community. It's a community welcoming people from every discipline and culture who seek a deeper understanding of the world.

To get you started here are two of my favorites (one a longer than average, the other shorter than average):

Assignment:

Search the TED archive and watch about an hour worth of videos. (This will probably end up being about 4-6 episodes.) In your blog post link to the ones you watched (or better yet, embed them in your blog,) and talk about one of them. Did you find the video particularly entertaining, educational or inspirational? If so, why?
The videos you watch and blog about don’t necessarily have to tie back to libraries but you’ll get bonus karma points if they do.

Thing #49.5: Google+ Pages

Yesterday Google+ opened up the ability for organizations and companies to create pages. We have just created one for the Commission @ https://plus.google.com/110697779087482580396. We're not sure what we're going to do with it yet but at a minimum better for us to create it than someone else. So, please feel free to add us to a circle and if you'd like you can create one for your library @ https://plus.google.com/pages/create.

Thing #49: Google+

Welcome back to the regularly scheduled Nebraska Learns 2.0 monthly thing. All of us involved hoped everyone had a great time with CPD23 and are ready to get back into the swing of the monthly program.
We’ve talked about social networks in the past and we’ve talked about Google services in the past. What we’ve not yet talked about is a Google social network service. Why not? Well, for the most part there wasn’t one worthy of discussion. But now, just maybe, for Google, the third time’s the charm. This month, let’s take a look at Google+.
As you can probably guess there’s a lot to Google+. In this post I’ll be covering the major features and point out some useful tips. However, I encourage you to explore for a while before writing up your review.

Signing up and logging in

First you need to head over to http://plus.google.com/ and sign up. Originally you did need an invite but that isn’t the case any longer. (The previous invite link is an actual invite should for some reason Google ask that you have one even though it shouldn’t.)
Once you’re set up and logged in the first thing you should do is head over to your profile page (click on your name in upper right corner and select Profile) and fill in as much as you’re comfortable with. Feel free to take a look at my Google+ profile for an example.
Here’s something very important: One of the biggest issues with the launch of Google+ was Google’s real names policy which is currently in effect. Simply put, you can’t use a pseudonym, you must use the name you’re commonly known by. It has been reported that Google will be relaxing this rule in the future but it hasn’t happened as of early November.
Once you’re done filling in your profile use the navigation bar at the top to get to Circles.

Circles

Circles are both intuitive and somewhat difficult to explain. However I’ve found that once you get the hang of them you’ll wonder where they’ve been all your social web life.
Everyone you follow on Google+ needs to be placed into a circle. The the first thing you need to do is find someone to follow. Use the person search box in the upper right (it says “type a name” and enter “Michael Sauers”. You should get several results but I’m the one standing in front of a lot of books. Grab my icon and drag it down to the circle on the bottom half of the screen that says “Drop contacts here to create a new circle”.
Once you’ve done that click the “Create circle” link and name it Librarians and click the blue Create circle button. Now that the circle has been created you can find other people and drag them onto that circle. You’re welcome to create as many circles as you want. For example, I have circles for librarians, Nebraskans, family, Doctor Who fans, and more. Anyone you follow can be in more than one circle. So, if I follow you and you’re a librarian in Nebraska, you’re in both my librarians and Nebraskans circles.
One important thing to note is that unless you specifically make a circle public, people in your circles know you’re following them but don’t know the name of the circle you’ve put them in. So, for example, you can have a circle named “people who say interesting things but whom I find annoying”. As long as you don’t make that circle public, they’ll never know.

To delete a circle, right click on it and select delete. You can also rearrange your circles via drag and drop.
Why circles? Two reasons. First it can allow you to view just the posts from those in a particular circle. And second, and more importantly, you can easily choose to share an item with just people within a particular circle. (I’ll be talking about both of these later in this post.)

Your Stream

Now let’s click the home button in the navigation bar to get to your stream.

Your stream is where new items posted by the people in your circles are displayed. New items are displayed at the top with older items moving down the page as new content arrives.
On any particular item you can click on the poster’s name to get to their profile or click on the title to go to the original content source (assuming they’re posting a link to another item.) The time/date of the post will also be displayed along with information about who the post was shared with. Below each item you can +1 it, comment on it, or re-share it (assuming the original poster has not limited resharing).
As people comment on a post, those comments will automatically appear beneath the original content, new posts at the bottom.
If you look in the upper-right corner of a post you’ll see a gray triangle. Click this to get options to report abuse, block this person, and mute the post (for when you’re tired of receiving updates for a particular post.)
Over in the left sidebar is a list of your circles. Click on the name of a circle to see just the posts from the people in that circle. (Click the home button in the navigation bar to get back to your full stream.) Near the bottom of your circles list is “Incoming”. Clicking this will display the posts from people who are following you (i.e. you’re in one of their circles) but you are not following (i.e. they’re not in any of your circles.) This is a great way to check out people who you don’t know but follow you to see if you’d like to follow them back.
At the bottom of that list is Notifications. I’ll be covering that later in this lesson.

Sharing

To share new content click on “Share what’s new…” at the top of your stream. A box will appear into which you can enter any text you wish.

If you also (or instead) want to share a link to some other content, click the link icon and paste in your link. (There are also icons for sharing videos and photos, along with adding your physical location to a post.) As you add links to your post, part of that content, usually a graphic and some of the text, will be pulled into your post. (Shared YouTube videos will automatically be embedded into your post.) If more than one graphic appears on the linked page you can choose which graphic is used. You can also remove the graphic and/or remove the text that’s been pulled in.

Next you need to decide with whom to share your post. The default it to make the post public. If you do make it public, anyone who follows you will receive it in their stream, along with anyone who looks at your public profile, and it will appear as a result for an appropriate search. However, you don’t have to make things public.

To not make a post public, make sure that Public does not appear. (If it’s already there, click the X to remove it.) Then choose your list of whom to share this post with by clicking +Add more people.
When it comes to choosing who to share with, you’ve got a lot of options.

• Public (as already described)
• Your Circles: Share with everyone in all of your circles.
• Extended Circles: Share with everyone in all of your circles and everyone in all of their circles.
• Individual Circles. Choose any and all circles you wish to share this with.
• A particular person: Start typing a name of someone that has a Google+ account and you can share specifically with them whether they’re already in one of your circles or not.

I tend to make most of my posts public but in some cases I will share with a particular circle. For example, I might just want to post something that only those in my Family circle should see.
When you’re all done, click the green Share button to finalize your post.
Once you’ve posted something you can click on the gray triangle in the posts upper-right corner to get the ability to edit, delete, link to (the URL specific to this post), Disable comments, and Lock the post (keep others from resharing it).

Resharing

Assuming the original poster has not locked their post, each post will give you the ability to reshare it. To do this, just click the Share link at the bottom of the post and a new post will be created for you. Just add any additional text you wish, choose who to share it with, and click the Share button to post it.

Please keep in mind (and Google+ will remind you of this) that sometimes someone has shared something with a small group of people and did not necessarily want you to reshare it publicly. So please be aware of what and with whom you’re resharing.

Notifications

As people comment and reshare your posts, along with commenting on and resharing the posts of others that you have commented on or reshared, Google+ provides notifications of such activity. These notifications can be found in two places.
The first, and the one I use rarely, is the notifications link in the left-sidebar. Clicking on this will open a whole page of your notifications so as to look like your stream. Newer updates are at the top of the page, just like the stream.

The other option which I use constantly is through the notification icon in the black Google toolbar at the top of the page. As new notifications come in, the icon turns red and tells you how many notifications are awaiting you. (It stops updating at “9+”.) Clicking on this icon will open a window showing you a condensed list of notifications, each of which you can click to open and see the full content. I use this one more often since it appears on all Google sites (like Google Reader and GMail) and not just while I’m looking at Google+.

Searching Google+

Let’s say you’re interested in Carhenge. Find the search box at the top of the screen, enter carhenge and press enter. What you’ll see next is a list of public posts that mention Carhenge. Now lets say that you want to save this search for later viewing for new content. Click the Save this search button, located beneath the search box. Over in the left sidebar you’ll now see carhenge listed in red. Now, whenever you want to redo this search, just click on the link in the left sidebar.

Photos

I must admit that I’ve not personally played much with the photo features of Google+ since I’m very locked in to Flickr. However, what I have seen I’ve been very impressed with and the reviews from professional photographers have been wonderful.
The first interesting thing about photos in Google+ is the lightbox feature. Find a post in which someone has specifically shared a photo (like this one) and click on the photo. Here’s what you’ll get:

Photo: Trey Ratcliff (Someone you should follow!)
As you can see, the photo is beautifully displayed on a dark background and commenting is embedded to the right of the photo.
The other part of Google+ photos I’m impressed with is how it works with the G+ mobile app. I’ve got this installed on my phone and every time I take a photo I’ve allowed the app to automatically upload a copy of that photo into a private area of my Google+ account. Instant backups! (This is something you must turn on. It is off by default.)
If you want to play around more with photos in Google+ click the photo icon in the navigation bar. That screen will be broken down into several sections: Photos from your circles, Photos from your phone (if you’ve turned that on), Photos of you, Photos from your posts, and your albums. If you’re interested in sharing photography online, be sure to spend some time here.

Hangouts

Hangouts are the single coolest feature (in my opinion) of Google+ but I must admit that I’ve not yet actually had a chance to try it out. (Mainly due to the need to install a plugin to get it to work that I’ve not yet been able to install at work.)
Simply put, hangouts are video chat but way cooler than Skype. Best thing to do here is let this video explain it.

Google Reader Integration

On November 1st, users of Google Reader may have noticed that most of the familiar sharing and following features disappeared, replaced by Google +1 button. For better or worse if you want to share something from Google Reader, Google wants you to share it via Google+.
I’ve written a separate blog post about sharing in Google Reader and if you’re a Google Reader user I highly suggest you take a look at it. (It’s not very long.)

Looking for a demo?

On November 16th I’ll be doing a free live Webinar on Google+ for the Georgia Library Association. Anyone is welcome to register and attend. Assuming the recording is available before the end of the month I’ll try to remember to post it here.

***

So, that’s an overview of Google+. I feel like I’ve left a lot out but like any social network, it’s sometimes best to just get the basics and then figure out how it works best for you.

Assignment

1. Sign up for Google+ if you haven’t already.
2. Fill in your profile as much as you’re comfortable with. (Keep in mind Google’s real name policy.)
3. Find some people to follow and create a circle or two.
4. Try sharing some items both publicly and to particular circles.
5. Blog your thoughts about Google+. Be sure to include a link to your Google+ profile.

Bonus items:

1. Upload some photos, create and share a photo set.
2. If you’re a Google Reader user experiment with the new sharing features.
3. Start a public hangout and see who shows up.
4. If you have a smart phone install the Google+ app and let us know what you think of it.
5. Check out the gaming section. (I’ll leave you to find that on your own.)

CPD23: Week 17 - Final reflection - What next?

The final Thing! Congratulations on making it through all 23 Things for Professional Development!

But don't worry if you haven't completed all of the Things yet. The deadline has been extended to October 31 for Nebraska library staff to complete all 23 Things for Professional Development and earn 15 CE Credits. Our original deadline was October 14, but we changed it to October 31. So, you now have until the end of October to complete all of the Things. You do not have to complete the Things during the week they are first posted, you just have to have them all completed by the new October 31 deadline.

For this last thing, we would like you to reflect on the programme in general and on what you want to do next. Can you identify any gaps in your experience that you might like to work on? A Personal Development Plan could help you reach those goals.

We hope this side trip into 23 Things for Professional Development has been fun and educational for you. We will return to our regular one-Thing-per-month schedule starting in November.

Keep blogging and keep learning!

About CPD23: See our previous post about Nebraska Learns 2.0 joining this new learning program. And for an introduction to this new program and how you can participate, watch the recording of our NCompass Live about Nebraska Learns 2.0 joining the 23 Things for Professional Development program.

CPD23: Week 16 - Promoting yourself and Volunteering

Last week's NLA/NEMA Annual Conference took over a bit here, so we missed posting the Things for week 16. So, today we will be doing 2 posts, one for week 16 and one for week 17.

Don't forget, the deadline has been extended to October 31 for Nebraska library staff to complete all 23 Things for Professional Development and earn 15 CE Credits. Our original deadline was October 14, but we are moving it to October 31. So, you now have until the end of October to complete all of the Things. You do not have to complete the Things during the week they are first posted, you just have to have them all completed by the new October 31 deadline.

For week 16 of 23 Things for Professional Development you will do Things 21 and 22. This week the focus is on "Promoting yourself in job applications and at interviews" and "Volunteering to get experience".

See our previous post about Nebraska Learns 2.0 joining this new learning program. And, for an introduction to this new program and how you can participate, watch the recording of our NCompass Live about Nebraska Learns 2.0 joining the 23 Things for Professional Development program.

CPD23: Week 15 - Careers

It's week 15 of 23 Things for Professional Development. See our previous post about Nebraska Learns 2.0 joining this new learning program.

This week you will do Thing 20: Library Day in the Life and Library Routes/Roots, which is all about library careers. The idea is simple: blog about your library roots (how and why you got into the profession in the first place) and your library routes (the career path you’ve taken so far).

Don't forget, the deadline has been extended to October 31 for Nebraska library staff to complete all 23 Things for Professional Development and earn 15 CE Credits. Our original deadline was October 14, but we are moving it to October 31. So, you now have until the end of October to complete all of the Things. You do not have to complete the Things during the week they are first posted, you just have to have them all completed by the new October 31 deadline.

For an introduction to this new program and how you can participate, watch the recording of our NCompass Live about Nebraska Learns 2.0 joining the 23 Things for Professional Development program.

CPD23: Week 14 - Extra catch-up week and Thing 17

It's week 14 of 23 Things for Professional Development. See our previous post about Nebraska Learns 2.0 joining this new learning program.

The organizers of CPD23 have been listening to feedback from participants and have decided to change the schedule for the last few weeks of the program by making this an additional catch-up week. This pushes the end of the program to the week of October 10, instead of October 3.

In addition, Thing 17 is finally ready! It was originally scheduled for Week 12, starting on Sept. 5, but was postponed to this week. So, for this week, you can catch up on any previous Things you haven't done yet. And, you can do Thing 17 - "The Medium is the Message - Prezi and Slideshare".

Since the program has been extended, we are also extending the deadline to October 31 for Nebraska library staff to complete all 23 Things for Professional Development and earn 15 CE Credits. Our original deadline was October 14, but we are moving it to October 31. So, you now have until the end of October to complete all of the Things. You do not have to complete the Things during the week they are first posted, you just have to have them all completed by the new October 31 deadline.

For an introduction to this new program and how you can participate, watch the recording of our NCompass Live about Nebraska Learns 2.0 joining the 23 Things for Professional Development program.

CPD23: Week 13 - Catch-up week / reflection

UPDATE 9/19: Deadline for Nebraska library staff to complete all Things and earn 15 C.E. Credits extended to October 31.

It is week 13 of 23 Things for Professional Development. See our previous post about Nebraska Learns 2.0 joining this new learning program.

This week you will do Thing 19, which is another chance to catch up on the program.

This week there's only 1 Thing to do, so if you're a little behind on your Things, it's the perfect time to catch up. If you're just discovering 23 Things for Professional Development, it's the perfect time to get started.

Don't forget - Nebraska library staff who complete all 23 Things for Professional Development by October 14 October 31 will earn 15 CE Credits. You do not have to complete the Things during the week they are first posted, you just have to have them all completed by the October 14 October 31 deadline.

For Thing 19, you will think about how you might integrate the Things you've learned so far into your workflow and routines.

For an introduction to this new program and how you can participate, watch the recording of our NCompass Live about Nebraska Learns 2.0 joining the 23 Things for Professional Development program.

CPD23: Week 12 - Screencasts & Podcasts

It is week 12 of 23 Things for Professional Development. See our previous post about Nebraska Learns 2.0 joining this new learning program.

This week you will do Thing 18. (Thing 17 has been postponed.)

In Thing 18 you will explore Jing, screen capturing and podcasts (making and following them)

For an introduction to this new program and how you can participate, watch the recording of our NCompass Live about Nebraska Learns 2.0 joining the 23 Things for Professional Development program.

CPD23: Week 11 - Putting Yourself Out There

It is week 11 of 23 Things for Professional Development. See our previous post about Nebraska Learns 2.0 joining this new learning program.

This week you will do Thing 15 and Thing 16.

In Thing 15 you will explore why and how best to attend, speak at, and organize events.

In Thing 16 you will will look at the importance of being able to explain and express the value of the services your library offers to its constituents.

For an introduction to this new program and how you can participate, watch the recording of our NCompass Live about Nebraska Learns 2.0 joining the 23 Things for Professional Development program.

CPD23: Week 10 - Zotero / Mendeley / CiteULike

It's Week 10 of 23 Things for Professional Development. See our previous post about Nebraska Learns 2.0 joining this new learning program.

This week you will do Thing 14 which looks at tools for managing information.

Thing 14 posits that as librarians we're not just there to help people find information, we can also help them manage it to more easily achieve their goals. This week you will be  introduced to three free reference management tools -- Zotero, Mendeley, and CiteULike. Your task is to explore and play with at least one of these tools and then blog about your impressions. How could it help you achieve some of your own goals? How could your new skill help you improve the support you offer your library users? If you're already using one or several of these tools, please share how you're using them.

For an introduction to this new program and how you can participate, watch the recording of our NCompass Live about Nebraska

CPD23: Week 9 - Google Docs, Wikis and Dropbox

It's Week 9 of 23 Things for Professional Development. See our previous post about Nebraska Learns 2.0 joining this new learning program.

This week you will do Thing 13, which explores several tools designed to facilitate effective sharing of information and documents when working with others on a joint project. For this Thing you will need to have a go at some of the suggested activites and then blog about any or all of the tools.

For an introduction to this new program and how you can participate, watch the recording of our NCompass Live about Nebraska Learns 2.0 joining the 23 Things for Professional Development program.

CPD23: Week 8 - Catch-up week / reflections

It's Week 8 of 23 Things for Professional Development. See our previous post about Nebraska Learns 2.0 joining this new learning program.

This week there's only 1 Thing to do, so if you're a little behind on your Things, it's the perfect time to catch up. If you're just discovering 23 Things for Professional Development, it's the perfect time to get started.

Thing 12 is about 'Putting the social into social media'. For this Thing, you will consider the role of social media in building up networks and a sense of community.

For an introduction to this new program and how you can participate, watch the recording of our NCompass Live about Nebraska Learns 2.0 joining the 23 Things for Professional Development program.

CPD23: Week 7 - Librarianship training options

It's Week 7 of 23 Things for Professional Development. See our previous post about Nebraska Learns 2.0 joining this new learning program.

This week you will do Thing 10 and Thing 11, which are both on various ways to learn about being a librarian.

Thing 10 discusses routes into librarianship, such as traineeships, degrees and certifications. The post on the CPD23 website is UK-centric, but that's OK. For US participants, it is still very interesting to hear how it works in other countries. And the actual activity for this week works for everyone:

"For this week’s 'Thing' I would like you to blog about your experiences as a librarian so far. Tell us about why you joined the career, where you are now and how you got there and what you are planning to do next. I apologise that this blog post has been rather UK focused and therefore I would love it if our international colleagues out there would blog about their experiences in their countries so we can learn more about routes in librarianship on a global level."

Thing 11 is on Mentoring, and talks about being both a mentor and a mentee.

For an introduction to this new program and how you can participate, watch the recording of our NCompass Live about Nebraska Learns 2.0 joining the 23 Things for Professional Development program.

CPD23: Week 6 - Organising yourself

It's Week 6 of 23 Things for Professional Development. See our previous post about Nebraska Learns 2.0 joining this new learning program.

This week you will do Thing 8 and Thing 9, which are both about organising tools to keep you sane and on top of everything!

Thing 8 is about Google Calendar, a free web-based calendar which can be shared with other people and accessed from anywhere with Internet connection. Thing 9 introduces you to Evernote, a tool that allows you to take notes on webpages and archive them for later consultation.

For an introduction to this new program and how you can participate, watch the recording of our NCompass Live about Nebraska Learns 2.0 joining the 23 Things for Professional Development program.

CPD23: Week 5: Online Networks / Real Life Networks

It's Week 5 of 23 Things for Professional Development. See our previous post about Nebraska Learns 2.0 joining this new learning program.

This week you will do Thing 6 and Thing 7, which are both about networking, but in different ways. Thing 6 is all about online (or social) networks and communities, such as LinkedIn, Facebook, LIS New Professionals Network, Librarians as Teachers Network, and CILIP communities. Thing 7 focuses on face-to-face networks and professional organisations: what they do, what the benefits are, and how and why you can get involved.

For an introduction to this new program and how you can participate, watch the recording of our NCompass Live about Nebraska Learns 2.0 joining the 23 Things for Professional Development program.

CPD23: Week 4: Reflective Practice

It's Week 4 of 23 Things for Professional Development. See our previous post about Nebraska Learns 2.0 joining this new learning program.

This week, for Thing 5 you will take a bit of time to reflect on what you've done so far in the program. From the CPD23 post: "Reflective practice...provides an opportunity to review the experiences we have, learning from them and applying what we have learnt."

For an introduction to this new program and how you can participate, watch the recording of our NCompass Live about Nebraska Learns 2.0 joining the 23 Things for Professional Development program.

CPD23: Week 3: Current awareness

It's Week 3 of 23 Things for Professional Development. See our previous post about Nebraska Learns 2.0 joining this new learning program.

This week, you will do Thing 4. From the CPD23 post: "In this Thing we'll explore a few tools that will help you to keep up-to-date and aware of goings on in the library and information world. The three tools we have chosen to explore are Twitter, RSS feeds and Pushnote. However if there are any other tools you use for a similar purpose, feel free tell us all about it when you blog about this Thing!"

For an introduction to this new program and how you can participate, watch the recording of our NCompass Live about Nebraska Learns 2.0 joining the 23 Things for Professional Development program.

CPD23: Week 2: Online presence

It's Week 2 of 23 Things for Professional Development. See our previous post about Nebraska Learns 2.0 joining this new learning program.

This week, you will do Thing 3. You will Consider your personal brand - we'll consider how people see your online brand, what brand you would like to convey, and how to match the two.

Last week, to kick off Nebraska Learns 2.0 joining the 23 Things for Professional Development program, NCompass Live was an introduction to this new program and how you can participate. Check out the session recording for all the details.

CPD23 Starts Today! Week 1: Blogging

UPDATE 6/22: The recording of the NCompass Live session about this new program is now available.

23 Things for Professional Development starts today! See our previous post about Nebraska Learns 2.0 joining this new learning program.

Week 1 is on Blogging - you will complete Things 1 and 2 for this week.

In Thing 1, you will create your own blog (if you don't have one already) and will think and write about why you're taking part in 23 Things for Professional Development and what you're hoping to get out of it.

Go to the cpd23 page for Thing 1 for the details. There are also basic instructions on how to create a blog using Blogger or WordPress here on the Nebraska Learns 2.0 Set up a Blog page.

In Thing 2, you will explore other blogs and get to know some of the other cpd23 Participants.

NCompass Live - June 22

To kick off Nebraska Learns 2.0 joining the 23 Things for Professional Development program, the NCompass Live on June 22 will introduce you to the new program, and to some of the contributors. You can register for this session on the NCompass Live website. As usual, the session will be recorded, so if you can't make it on June 22, you will be able to watch the recording when it is convenient for you.

Let's start learning!

A New 23 Things...for Your Professional Development

UPDATE 9/19: Deadline for Nebraska library staff to complete all Things and earn 15 C.E. Credits extended to October 31. 
UPDATE 6/22: The recording of the NCompass Live session about this new program is now available.

This ongoing Nebraska Learns 2.0 program is now 2 years old! Yup, our very first Thing was in May 2009. Every month since then, we've offered you a new resource to learn about. But this isn't the Nebraska Library Commission's first foray into a 23 Things program. We debuted our first Nebraska Learns 2.0 program in October 2008. That original program ran for 16 weeks, through the end of January 2009.

Why are we giving you this 23 Things in Nebraska history lesson?

Many library staff have participated in both our original, 16 week program and in our ongoing program. But, we've heard from some of you that you'd like to do another 16 week learning program. Well, you're in luck! We've discovered a new 23 Things program that we think would be very useful, engaging, and fun. It's called 23 Things for Professional Development.

From its own website, "CPD23 is a free online programme open to information professionals at all stages of their career, in all types of roles, and anywhere across the world. Inspired by the 23 Things programmes for social media, this new programme will consist of a mixture of social media 'Things' and 'Things' to do with professional development. The programme starts on 20 June and will run until early October 2011."

Sounds great, doesn't it? We thought so, too. So, we have decided to change things up here at Nebraska Learns 2.0. For the next 5 months, we're going back to our roots. Instead of 5 new Things from June through October, Nebraska Learns 2.0 is going to follow along with 23 Things for Professional Development.

You will have the opportunity to learn 23 new Things to help you with your professional development. And we at Nebraska Learns 2.0 will be here to assist you in participating in this new, 16 week 23 Things program.

How will this work exactly?

If you participated in our first 16 week Nebraska Learns 2.0 program, it will work the same way. A new Thing will be offered each week and you will write a blog post reflecting on that Thing. The list of 23 Things that you will be exploring is on the 23 Things for Professional Development website, so you can see what you will be learning.

If you already have a blog of your own, or one you have used for our Nebraska Learns 2.0 programs, you can use that blog for this new program. You don't have to start a whole new blog for the new program, unless you want to.

With whatever blog you choose to use, you will need to sign up to participate in Nebraska Learns 2.0. If you're an existing Nebraska Learns 2.0 participant, you don't have to sign up again, but we'd appreciate it if you would leave a comment on this post to let us know you're planning on participating in this new 23 Things for Professional Development program.

You must register as a participant in Nebraska Learns 2.0 so that we can track your progress, assist you with your Things, and give you your CE Credits.

CE Credits! Update: DEADLINE EXTENDED!

Nebraska library staff who complete all 23 Things for Professional Development by October 14 October 31 will earn 15 CE Credits. You do not have to complete the Things during the week they are first posted, you just have to have them all completed by the October 14 October 31 deadline.

In order to earn Nebraska CE Credits, you must post a comment to this Nebraska Learns 2.0 blog with a link your own blog post about the Thing (instructions). We will have a blog post for each of the 23 Things for Professional Development here on Nebraska Learns 2.0 for this purpose - so you can tell us that you've done that Thing, and so that we can track your progress and give you your CE Credits.

If you also wish to register, comment and participate on the CPD23 website, that's perfectly fine. But, in order to earn your Nebraska CE Credits, you must tell us about the Things you've done on this Nebraska Learns 2.0 blog.

We realize that many of you will be very busy with Summer Reading Programs when this new 23 Things program first starts, but that's OK. You can catch up with the Things after that's over.

The last Thing is for the week of October 3 October 10, but because that is the same week as the NLA/NEMA Annual Conference, we are giving you until October 14 October 31 to complete all 23 Things and earn your 15 CE Credits.

You must complete all 23 Things to earn the 15 CE Credits - there is no partial credit.

NCompass Live - June 22

To kick off Nebraska Learns 2.0 joining the 23 Things for Professional Development program, the NCompass Live on June 22 will introduce you to the new program, and to some of the contributors. You can register for this session on the NCompass Live website. As usual, the session will be recorded, so if you can't make it on June 22, you will be able to watch the recording when it is convenient for you.

The first Thing will go live on Monday, June 20. We hope you'll join your library colleagues on this international learning adventure!

Thing #48: A Facebook Page for Your Library

Facebook Pages. You've seen them, you've "Liked" them. Does your library have one? Are your patrons on Facebook when they use the library's computers? Then maybe your library should be on Facebook, too. Facebook Pages are a great way to connect with your patrons, to promote your library's programs and services, and to share interesting stories or events. And they're easy to set up!

For this month's Thing, we're going to have you set up a Facebook Page for your library. If your library already has a Facebook Page, that's great! You can still participate this month - you can share how the library's page was set up and how it's being used now.

Before you make a page for your library, you must decide what you are going to use it for. Have a plan! Decide why your library needs it, what kinds of information you will have on it, who will be in charge of maintaining and updating the page. If you currently have a library website or newsletter, you can post the same types of items that you put there on your Facebook Page, too. And you already have people in charge of your website or newsletter - can those people keep up your library's Facebook page? Or maybe there is a volunteer or board member who is a big Facebook user themselves - can you recruit them to promote your library on Facebook?

To see how libraries and library organizations are using Facebook, here are a few Pages to look at:

Bellevue University Library
Gibbon Public Library
Lincoln City Libraries
O'Neill Public Library
South Sioux City Public Library
Union College Library
Nebraska Library Commission
Nebraska Library Association
American Library Association

This is a very short list of library-related Facebook Pages. See if you can find more!

We've also created a Facebook Page for this Nebraska Learns 2.0 program. We plan on using our page as a gathering place for Nebraska Learns 2.0 participants - for you to share ideas with each other, and for us to share information about the program with you.

Now that you've seen how others are doing it, it's time to go make a page for your own library. First, watch this video on the basics of setting up a Facebook Page for a library:



Remember, if you already have a Facebook Page for your library, you don't need to make a new one. Simply use the one you currently have to explore Facebook Pages for libraries.

To learn more about the whys and hows of Facebook Pages, here are some interesting articles:

What can you do with a Facebook Page? - David Lee King
What's Your Library's Facebook Policy? - Library Journal
Our Library Facebook Page - Stanford University, CA
Facebook as a Library Tool: Perceived vs. Actual Use - College & Research Libraries

Assignment:

1. Create a Facebook Page for your library. If your library already has a Facebook Page, then you've done Step 1.
2. "Like" the Nebraska Learns 2.0 Facebook Page. 
3. Spend a week or two posting updates to your library's Facebook Page. Don't forget to promote that you have this new resource to your community - link to it from your website, put it in your newsletter, post flyers in the library, etc.
4. Write a blog post about your experience with Facebook Pages. Some ideas to blog about:
• Did you find it hard or easy to create the page?
• What types of things have you been sharing on your library's Facebook Page?
• What has the response been to your library's Facebook Page?
• Do you have any ideas on how libraries can use Facebook to promote themselves?

Thing #47: Say hello to Linux

Most of us use Windows. Some of us use Macs. My question is, how many of us use the other option known as Linux?

As a brief introduction, here’s some relevant bits from the Wikipedia article:

Linux refers to the family of Unix-like computer operating systems using the Linux kernel. Linux can be installed on a wide variety of computer hardware, ranging from mobile phones, tablet computers and video game consoles, to mainframes and supercomputers. Linux is a leading server operating system, and runs the 10 fastest supercomputers in the world.
The development of Linux is one of the most prominent examples of free and open source software collaboration; typically all the underlying source code can be used, freely modified, and redistributed, both commercially and non-commercially, by anyone under licenses such as the GNU General Public License. Typically Linux is packaged in a format known as a Linux distribution for desktop and server use. Some popular mainstream Linux distributions include Debian (and its derivatives such as Ubuntu), Fedora and openSUSE. Linux distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting utilities and libraries to fulfill the distribution's intended use.
The name "Linux" comes from the Linux kernel, originally written in 1991 by Linus Torvalds. The main supporting user space system tools and libraries from the GNU Project (announced in 1983 by Richard Stallman) are the basis for the Free Software Foundation's preferred name GNU/Linux.

For this month's Thing, we're going to take a look at one of the most commonly used Linux versions, Ubuntu. But, you may be wondering - what's it going to take to test a whole operating system? Well, here’s the three greatest things about most Linux distributions:

1. As previously mentioned, they work on some pretty old hardware. So, if you happen to have a spare old computer you thought wasn’t good for anything any more, you can probably use that.
   
2. You can actually try most Linux distributions without actually installing them by using something called a Live CD. (More on this in a minute.)
   
3. For Ubuntu, the distribution we’ll be trying, you can actually install it as a Windows application along side your current version of Windows.

I’ll get more specific about each of these options shortly.

For this lesson you can use the current version, Ubuntu 10.10, or try Ubuntu 11.04 Beta if you’re wondering what the next version will look like. (If you’re already feeling unsure, I’d stick with 10.10. If you’re going for the beta version, read the instructions I’ve linked to. Most of the rest of this article should be accurate but I’ll be writing from the point of view of 10.10.)

You have three options for trying Ubuntu: via Windows Installer, via the Live CD or USB drive, and installing it on a spare computer. Here’s the hows and whys of each:

Via the Windows Installer
Use this option if you would like to give your computer the option to boot either into Windows or Ubuntu when you turn it on. This option uses a lot of hard drive space and you will need to have full administrative access to your computer. DO NOT do this on a work computer without first talking to your IT folks. (Chances are they’ll tell you not to do it.) I’ve done this on a few computers and there’s nothing to be particularly scared of, but it’s not a decision to be taken lightly.

Head on over to http://www.ubuntu.com/desktop/get-ubuntu/windows-installer, download the installer, and run it just like you would install any other Windows program. Once finished, reboot your computer and you should see a menu asking you which OS you’d like to use.

To uninstall Ubuntu, boot into Windows and uninstall it via the Control Panel as you would uninstall any other Windows program.

The benefit to this method is that you don’t need a spare computer and any changes you make on the Ubuntu side will keep past a reboot. However, please be aware of the issues with doing this that I previously mentioned.

Via a Live CD or USB drive
This is the most flexible of the three options. All you need to do is download the .ISO file from http://www.ubuntu.com/desktop/get-ubuntu/download and then create a bootable CD or USB drive. (All the instructions are on that page. You will probably need to download and install an additional piece of software and have the ability to burn to a blank CD-R or a blank USB drive.)

Once finished with that process, reboot the computer with the newly burned CD in your CD-ROM drive, or USB drive plugged in. In most cases the computer will boot from the CD/USB instead of the hard drive. (If not, you may need to perform an extra step or two - contact your IT folks for that or leave a comment here and I might be able to help.)

Once the computer has successfully booted from the CD/USB, you should see an Ubuntu menu. Choose “Try Ubuntu without any change to your computer” and press Enter.

At this point you’re running Ubuntu completely from the CD/USB and your hard drive isn’t being used in any way that will damage your Windows installation or files. When you’re done, shut down the computer and remove the CD/USB. Upon reboot, the computer will boot back to Windows.

This is a great way to play around with Ubuntu. The only down sides are that it’s a bit on the slow side due to CD/USB speeds, and anything you change will not keep. So, the next time you boot from the CD/USB, it’ll act like a fresh OS having forgotten anything you’ve previously done. You can find a more detailed explanation of the Live CD concept at https://help.ubuntu.com/community/LiveCD

Installing it on a spare computer
If you’ve got an old computer please give this a try. Follow the same instructions for creating a Live CD but when you get to the first Ubuntu menu, instead choose “Install Ubuntu”. Follow all the prompts and in 15-20 minutes you should have a bootable Ubuntu OS installed on the hard drive. Don’t forget to plug the computer into your network so it can get all the needed updates from the Internet.

Ok, I’ve got Ubuntu running, now what?
Well, that’s up to you. The idea here is to give you the opportunity to play with this wonderful (in my opinion) alternative to Windows and Mac. Here are a few of the reasons I like to use it on some of my computers:

• It’s a more secure operating system.
• It updates faster and more often that Windows or MacOS.
• It allows me to run some older hardware that Windows no longer supports.
• It’s free!

Additionally, here’s just one idea that I had for using Ubuntu in a library setting. (Unfortunately, it’s a little late for this year.)

A Nebraska public library was concerned about the lack of printed tax forms this year. What I suggested was to take an old spare computer or two (I know they had some) and install Ubuntu, connect them to the network and a printer. Then (this bit would take some technical know-how) lock down the browser so that it only went to IRS.gov. Stick this computer in a corner and label it the “Tax Terminal” and treat it as a non-reserveable walk-up computer for printing out tax forms. Once you know what you’re doing, the whole setup might take 20-30 minutes. This plan has two significant benefits: First, not having to pay a license fee for the OS. Second, since it was just for printing forms from a browser, the fact that it isn’t Windows wouldn’t be that much of an issue for the patrons.

So, let me leave you with just a few ideas for where you can poke around in Ubuntu:

• Under Applications, see what software comes with Ubuntu. Maybe try playing with OpenOffice if it’s already there, if not…
  
• Look for the Ubuntu Software Center under Applications and see what’s available for download and installation.
  
• Look under System|Preferences and see how flexible the interface is.
  
• If you have accounts with Twitter, Facebook or other social sites, click on the speech bubble in the upper-right corner and select Broadcast Accounts.

For your blog post write about your experience with installing and playing around in Ubuntu. Did you find a neat feature I didn’t mention? Do you think you might consider extending the life of some of your old equipment for your patrons by installing Ubuntu? Let us know what you think.

Bonus:
For those of you that think you’ll never get away form Windows, try installing the Wine application via the Software Center. It allows you to install and run most Windows programs on the Ubuntu OS.

Thing #46: Stixy



Last month our colleague Kathryn came down the hall to tell us about a new application she’d discovered, which she thought would make a great Nebraska Learns 2.0 “Thing”: Stixy!



If you’ve ever seen Kathryn’s desk and office walls, which are covered with semi-organized patterns of post-it notes, you’d understand why this application appeals to her! Stixy is the online equivalent of a bulletin board or physical desktop, with the added value (when desired) of collaboration.



Kathryn at her Post-It-Note covered desk



Kathryn's bulletin board

Stixyboards

Stixy’s tagline proclaims it is “For Flexible Online Creation, Collaboration, and Sharing.” With a free Stixy account, you can create as many Stixyboards as you like. Keep some private for personal projects; invite friends, family, or colleagues to view and/or collaborate with you on others. The choice is yours!

Each Stixyboard you create provides you with a work area where you can place your content. Stixy doesn’t use a fixed grid, so you can physically arrange your content in any way you’d like – just like you do on your desk or bulletin board: you can line content up in neat horizontal or vertical rows, scatter it randomly, or even layer or stack it.

Content Widgets

Content is added to a Stixyboard by dragging and dropping a widget onto your work space. There are currently four types of widgets to choose from:

• Note – This widget is the equivalent of a post-it note. Notes can be resized to accommodate anything from a couple lines of text to multiple paragraphs. Background color and opacity, as well as font color, size, and style can be customized. You can also include links out to web pages.
    
• Photo – The photo widget allows you to upload a photo to your Stixyboard. Supported file types include JPG, GIF, and PNG. Once uploaded, you can resize or rotate your photo, drag it to a different location, or add a handful of effects.
   
• Document – The document widget allows you to upload various types of files to your Stixyboard – Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, PDF documents, sound files and movie files. If you’re collaborating with others, they will need the required programs on their computers to open the files, but it is a nice alternative to sharing files by attaching them to email messages.
   
• Todo – Todo widgets allow you to create date-specific reminders that can generate email alerts to you and your collaborators if you choose.

Collaboration and Privacy

There are several options available for collaboration. If you are working on a project with a small group of people, click on the “Options” link associated with the Stixyboard you plan to use for your collaboration. This opens the Options menu, which allows you to send email invitations to the specific people you’d like to collaborate with.

A Stixyboard can be private, meaning only you and your collaborators can view and edit it. You can also set up guest access to allow people other than your collaborators to view the Stixyboard. Guest access is provided via a special guest URL.

If you’re interested in broader collaboration, you can even allow guests to add, remove, and edit widgets. If you choose this later option you may want to require guests to enter a password before they get access to the page.

Here are guest access URLs and passwords to a couple of Stixy boards I’ve created:

• Thing #46: Stixy: http://www.stixy.com/guest/107872 (password: ilovelibraries)
   
• Nebraska Learns 2.0: http://www.stixy.com/guest/107712 (password: ilovelibraries)

As guests, I’m only allowing you to view the Thing #46 Stixyboard, but I’ve given you permission to both view and edit the Nebraska Learns 2.0 Stixyboard. (So if you have any ideas for future “Things,” add them to the list!)

There are a couple of important factors to keep in mind when making decisions about who can edit a Stixyboard. First, for better or worse anyone with edit permission can change or delete text and widgets added by others. Second, since additions, changes, and deletions aren’t tracked or attributed to specific collaborators or guests, there’s no built-in way to identify who did what, whether positive or negative.

For these reasons you can see the value of limiting editing privileges to a few trusted colleagues in situations where content integrity is important. When opening up participation to a broader group of individuals it will be important to establish expectations in terms of behavior, content, and self-identification.

For more information on how to use Stixy, I recommend this short YouTube tutorial. You may also want to view the following Stixyboard examples:

1. Work collaboration (from Stixy)
2. Research an online purchase (from Stixy)
3. Photo album (from Stixy)
4. Collaborative brainstorming
5. PTA Information Distribution
6. Teacher Page
7. Vocabulary
8. Information about sound

Assignment

1. Create a Stixy account and play around with it. Try out the various widgets. Experiment with formatting, resizing, and arranging. Figure out how to create guest access.
    
2. Write a two-part blog post. In part one, briefly describe your experience with Stixy. What did you like or dislike about it?
   
   In part two, speculate about who in your community might have an interest in or use for Stixy? Would parents be interested in learning about it? Genealogists? Church groups? Are there ways you could use Stixy in the library, either internally or with your community? Could you use it as a staff bulletin board? With your teen advisory group? With book club groups?
     
3. Finally, mock up a Stixyboard demonstrating one of the possible uses you wrote about in your blog post. Include the guest URL to your Stixyboard in your blog post.

Thing #45 Account Settings

The inspiration for Thing #45 came to me the other day when I was setting up a brand new Gmail account for an organization I belong to. As I was doing this I took the time to run through all of the Settings options and was surprised by a few of the things that I found. Whenever I set up a new account I usually take the time to run through the settings but I don’t think I truly understand the impact of some of the settings until I’ve used a product on a regular bases. The available settings may also change over time as companies improve their products. Needless to say I found a few settings that I had to change in my own Gmail account.

For Thing#45 we are going to spend some time exploring settings. There are two parts to the Thing #45 assignment. For the first part I want everyone to spend some time looking at all of the Settings that are available for your blog in Blogger. (As I’m sure you can guess, you will also be asked to blog about the experience.) To help you get started I’m going to highlight some settings that I think you might find useful.

Part I

Blogger

Start by going to the Blogger Dashboard. Under the heading for your blog you should find a link to Settings. When you are on the Settings tab there will be a number of subtopic links towards the top of your screen (Basics, Publishing, Formatting...).

Basic: While looking at the Basic screen I realized I was using the old post editor. This option can be found towards the bottom of the page under the heading of Global Settings. I am now using the Updated Editor.

Formatting: Is your Time Zone correct?

Comments - Comment Notification Email: This is the last option on the page. Everyone should put their email address in this box. This way you will be notified when someone comments on one of your posts. If you haven’t been keeping up on your comments you might want to view the comments left on your blog. Just to the left of the Settings tab you will see the Comments tab. This page will display all of the comments that have been left on your blog.

Next let’s move on to the Design tab where you can obviously change the design of your blog. If you’re ready to create a new look for you blog check out the Template Designer. On this page you can also add or remove gadgets. There is one set of options on this page that I think are easy to overlook. In the Add and Arrange Page Elements area there is a square labeled Blog Posts. Click on the Edit link in that square. You will now see a couple of Main Page Options and Post Page Options. Two options I don’t remember seeing before are the Reactions and the Show Share Buttons.

When you’re poking around looking at the settings and options I think it’s a good time to spend a few minutes making sure you profile information is still correct. When you are on the Dashboard you will find links to Edit Profile and Edit Photo.

Part 2

For the next part of your assignment you will need to select another online tool that you use and go over the account information and settings. Here are some examples of things you may want to look at in a number of different online tools.

Gmail (The Settings link is located in the upper right had corner of the page.)

General – Signature: It’s important to set up a signature file for any email account you use for official library business. Your signature file should contain at least the basic information such as your name, the library name, and library phone number so the person receiving the email will know who you are and where you’re from.

General - Browser connection: If your account is not already set to “Always use https” you may want to consider changing it. Follow the Learn More link that Google provides to learn more about why you may want to use this.

Accounts and Import - Grant access to your account (Allow others to read and send mail on your behalf): This option could be useful if you have a Gmail account that more than one person needs to access, such as a basic library email account. Follow the Learn More link that Google provides to learn more.

Labs: I’m not going to take the time to talk about Google Labs today. It’s a large enough topic that it could be its own Thing. If you like playing around with “Some crazy experimental stuff.” then you might want to check it out.

Themes: If you haven’t changed the look of your account in awhile Google added five new themes in November.

An easy way to stay up-to-date on what’s going on with Gmail is to follow the Gmail Blog.



Google Reader (There are settings in multiple places that you can tweak.)

Settings - The Settings link is located in the upper right had corner of the page.

Subscriptions: Use the options on this page to organize your feeds using folders.

If you go “Back to Google Reader” There is some addition customization options available on the main reader screen. On the left hand side of the screen next to the heading Subscriptions you should see a small down arrow. Clicking this arrow displays a list of options. A couple of settings worth checking out are the sort options and Show All or Show Updated. If Show Updated is selected you will only see subscriptions that have new items, the rest of your subscriptions will not display until they contain new items.

An easy way to stay up-to-date on what’s going on with Google Reader is to follow the Google Reader Blog.

Facebook (The Account Settings and Privacy Settings are located under Account in the top right corner.)

There’s one new setting I wanted to mention in Facebook. In recent post on the Facebook Blog titled A Continued Commitment to Security they talk about secured connections and how they are going to be rolling out an HTTPS option. The post tells you how to enable this option, however I just checked my account and I do not have the option yet so I’ll have to check again in a few days.

If you are a Facebook user you know there are a ton of other settings available but I’m not going to cover any of them in detail. That said however please take a few minutes to review all of your Facebook Account Settings and Privacy Settings because you never know what you might find.

In Addition...

Before I started writing this Thing #45 I asked Christa, Michael, and Susan if they had any suggestions on settings I should be sure to point out. Here are a couple of suggestions Michael had.

Twitter: Under Settings – Account - Tweet Location. Enabling this option adds a location to your tweets

Flickr: Connect your Flickr account to Facebook and upload pictures to Flickr by email.
Thanks Michael!

Since last month’s Thing was on Foursquare I wanted to take a moment and point any folks who are working in the academic world to a new post on the Foursquare blog. The post is titled: Foursquare University badges now available at all schools, worldwide!

Assignment

1. Spend some time exploring the settings available for your blog in Blogger. If you haven’t already done so please enter your email address into the Comment Notification Email option. Blog about your experience as you explored the settings. If you need some ideas about what to write check out the list of questions below.
2. For the next part of your assignment you will need to select another online service that you use and go over the account information and settings. You do not have to use one of the sites that mentioned, just pick a service that you use. After you are done please blog about your experience.

Suggested questions you can answer in your blog post.

• When was the last time you reviewed the settings of your accounts?
• In addition to Blogger what other site did you look at? 
• Did you look at more than just one additional site, if so which ones? What motivated you to look at more? 
• Did you find any settings that changed/fixed a problem or issue you’ve had?
• What settings were you most excited to find?
• Did you find a setting or multiple settings that you think all of us need to know about? (Please share I’d like to know!)
• Was it worth your time going back and reviewing the account settings?