Week 9, Thing 14 - Photosharing

Welcome to Week 9, Thing 14 - Photosharing with Flickr


Photo-sharing Web sites have been around for quite awhile, in Internet terms. Flickr (now owned by Yahoo) took the idea of photo sharing and turned it into an online community. Flickr allows users to upload their photos and then share them with family, friends, or the world. Users can “tag” photos with descriptive words and phrases-what librarians would call keywords--to help users identify and search for photos.

Image  by Darwin Bell, on Flickr

In this Thing, you are asked to take a good look at Flickr and discover what this site has to offer. Find out how tags work, what groups are, and all the neat things that people and other libraries (a list here, too) are creating thanks to Flickr. The Library of Congress has a Flickr account--with more than 3,000 photos that you are invited to tag.

You have two options in this Thing…

A. 1. Take a good look around Flickr and find an interesting image that you want to blog about. You can explore Flickr photos, search the tags, view various groups, and more without a Flickr account.

2. Use any keyword(s) (books, cats, library cats, library signs, whatever…) to find photos with those tags.When you find an interesting image or group, comment on your experience finding images, using Flickr, and anything else related to the exercise. Upload the image to your blog (be sure to credit the photographer). Don't forget to include a link to the image in the post.

-OR- the more fun option

B. 1. Create a Free Account in Flickr (note that Flickr is now part of Yahoo! If you have a Yahoo! account for email or MyYahoo!, log in with that. Or you may also log in with your Google account.).
2. Then use a digital camera to capture a few pictures of something in your library.
3. Upload these to your new Flickr account and tag at least one of the images with U of S Library. Be sure to mark the photo public.
4. Add one or more of your images to your blog. You can add the image in one of two ways:

•Flickr's blogging tool (need a Flickr account to see the button) lets you click the Blog This button (right above the picture) and add any public photo on Flickr to your blog. Be sure to give credit to the photographer, if it is not your photo.
•Blogger's photo upload feature lets you add photos from your computer or from the Web and choose the placement in the blog post. Click the little photo icon in the toolbar on the New Post page---it is in the row of tools above the post box. Follow the instructions in the pop up box.

Spend some time exploring the site and have some Flickr photo fun.If you're interested in looking at some other photo hosting and sharing sites, check out Picasa Web Albums from Google or another service called Smugmug.

Keep in mind that when posting identifiable photos of other people (especially minors) get the person's permission before posting their photo in a publicly accessible place like Flickr. Never upload pictures to your Flickr account that weren't taken by you (unless you have the photographer's consent) and always give credit when you include photos taken by someone else in your blog.

Resources

•Flickr Learn More tour (6 steps)
•Mediamazine Flickr Tutorials •Keep up with Flickr news via the Flickrblog

More ways to explore:

•Flickr: Popular tags •Interesting- Last 7 days •365 Days of Library Pictures in Flickr

Now Blog!

Share your Flickr-ing thoughts:

•How might you use Flickr?
•Do you use Flickr or another photo hosting service? Which one? How does it compare to Flickr?
•How do you feel about having your photos public (note that you can mark your Flickr photos private, too)--any concerns?

Optional
1. Compare & contrast other photo sites like Picasa or Smugmug or one you use. Which has great features to recommend to the rest of us?
2. Try more of Flickr's or another site's tools to manipulate or organize photos and then tell us about it.
3. Post anything you've done/learned about photo-editing or photo sites on your blog.

Photos add personality and interest to blogs and Web pages. Photo hosting sites like Flickr make sharing photos easy.

Week 8, Thing 13 - Catch-up

Welcome to Week 8, Thing 13

There is no material this week! This is your chance to catch up on anything that you have missed, go back and try out some of the optional things that you didn't have time to do, or just take a break.

See you next week!

Image by jessiefish, on Flickr

Week 7, Things 11 & 12 - Wikis, Wikipedia, and the U of S Wiki

Welcome to Week 7, Things 11 and 12!

After completing Things 11 & 12, you will...
Be familiar with the U of S Wiki Tool, and have contributed to the 23 Things Wiki.

What is a Wiki?
A wiki is a Web site that allows users to add and update content on the site using their own Web browser. This is made possible by Wiki software that runs on the Web server. Wikis end up being created mainly by a collaborative effort of the site visitors. A great example of a large wiki is Wikipedia, a free encyclopedia in many languages that anyone can edit. The term "wiki" comes from the Hawaiian phrase, "wiki wiki," which means "super fast." I guess if you have thousands of users adding content to a Web site on a regular basis, the site could grow "super fast." (techterms.com)


The U of S Wiki Tool
The wiki is available to "anonymous" (non-registered) users as well as to "members" (U of S Members and Guests). By using your NSID username and password, or your guest username and password, you can log in as a member of the wiki service. As a U of S member, you will have more editing and contributing access than an anonymous user. Guests will require additional access privileges from wiki owners.

Step-by-step instructions
1. Go to https://wiki.usask.ca/

2. Log-in with your NSID and PASSWORD (top right side of the page)

3. Go to the Wiki documentation home page and browse the various tutorials. The guided introduction to Confluence Wiki software contains some very useful tutorials and instructions.

4. Enter the 23 Things Wiki page and familiarize yourself with the layout. Then, add it to your favourites: Click on Favourite (so the star becomes yellow) under the Tools drop-down menu.

5. Click on the “How Might the U of S Wiki Benefit You? Round 2” child page

6. Contribute to the page by "Edit".

7. Once you have shared some thoughts, remember to click on SAVE.

Now blog! Blog about your experience with the U of S Wiki Tool. Tell us what you particularly liked – and didn’t like - about it. Do you think you will use the tool in the future?

Optional extras
Have a look at Wikispaces or Wikidot to see what they may offer you that's different.


Don't forget to mark this week's activity as complete in the 23 Things Work Completed Spreadsheet so you can qualify for our grand prize draw.

Week 6, Thing 9 - YouTube & Thing 10 - Podcasting

Welcome to Week 6 – Thing 9 (YouTube)



After completing Thing 9
You will know more about video sharing using YouTube, have viewed some fun library content, and shared some content with others.

What is YouTube?
YouTube is a video-sharing Internet website on which all users can upload, share, and view videos, including movie clips, TV clips, and music videos as well as amateur content such as video blogging and short original videos. Most of the content on YouTube has been uploaded by individuals, although some media corporations, such as CBS and BBC, offer some of their material via the site. You must be a registered user with a YouTube account in order to upload and/or share videos, but anyone can watch them.

Step-by-step instructions

To avoid disturbing your co-workers, If you have headphones/earphones, you might want to plug in your headphones/earphones, if you have them, before proceeding with this session.

1.  Explore YouTube and find a video worth sharing with others and/or to add as an entry in your blog.

For example, find a video that you would like to add as an entry in your blog, such as,
Romance of the Living Book
Study Like a Scholar, Scholar
Librarians do Gaga
Ninja Librarian

Or, search for the University of Saskatchewan. My favourites are:
RMR: Rick at the University of Saskatchewan
Weapon of Choice
University of Saskatchewan Learning Commons – A Video Tour

Or, find one that interests you (suitable content).

2.  Try placing the video inside your blog by selecting ‘Share’ from the menu options below the YouTube video screen.

And then 'Embed' from the following menu.

Copy and past the embed code.  The code changes based on your selection.

Note: you'll need to use Blogger's Edit HTML tab when pasting this code.

  


Optional
Try sharing a video by clicking the ‘Share’ button and using one of the share tools available(Facebook; Twitter).

Click on each share option. You will notice that you are required to create an account or sign in to proceed. Go ahead and do that if you would like.
 
Feeling brave?
Make your own video and upload it to YouTube or Google Video.  Find out how:
 
Making and Optimizing Your Videos from YouTube. If you do, be sure to add the link to your blog. We all want to see it.

Now Blog!
Create a blog post about your experience. What did you like or dislike about the site and why did you choose the video that you did? Can you see any features or components of the site that might be interesting if they were applied to the library website?

***Don't forget to mark this week's activity as complete in the 23 Things Work Completed Spreadsheet so you can qualify for our grand prize draw.




Welcome to Thing 10 – Podcasts

After completing Thing 10
You will know more about podcasting, searched some podcast directories to find a podcast that interests you, and added an RSS feed for a podcast to your blog.

What is a podcast?
A podcast is a pre-recorded audio or video broadcast that is distributed over the Internet and can be subscribed to and downloaded via RSS. Podcasts can take the form of interviews, discussions, comedy routines or one-person commentaries. Some are very professional, others less so. There’s a podcast out there for just about every interest area and the best part about this technology is that you don’t have to have an iPod or a MP3 player to access them. Since podcasts use the MP3 file format, a popular compressed format for audio files, you really just need a PC (or portal device) with headphones or a speaker.

The following video clearly explains in 3 short minutes what podcasting is all about.  This video may take some time to download -- please be patient.



How do I listen to a podcast?
Download them to your iPod or MP3 player, or listen to/view them directly on your PC. Check out the Podcasts section on the Apple website.  If you already use Apple's iTunes software, you can download a podcast to enjoy in either iTunes or on any Apple Computers device such as your iPod, iPhone, or iPad.
Note: Because most of us do not have administrative rights to download applications to our work PC's, we recommend that you download iTunes to your home computer.

Where else can I find podcasts?
You might also want to try searching some podcast directories, such as Podcast.com, Podcast Alley, Get a Podcast, or others. See Podcasting News for a Top 10 list of directories.  Most of these directories require that you become a member before allowing you to subscribe. 

Step-by-step instructions

1.  Take a look at one or two of the podcast directories listed above and try to find a podcast that interests you. See if you can find some interesting library related podcasts, such as book review podcasts or library news.

2.  Add the RSS feed for a podcast to your blog, iGoogle or Google Reader.

Optional
Create your own podcast. One of the best known pieces of free software for recording and editing podcasts is Audacity. Audacity allows you to create some technically impressive audio recordings and you don't need anything more than an in-built PC/laptop microphone. However, if you really get into this podcasting lark you probably want to invest in some equipment. Why not give it a go and if you like the end results register it on iTunes or another podcasting service?

FYI, At the University of Saskatchewan, Arts & Science IT, Campus ITS, and Educational Media Access and Production (EMAP) have partnered to provide instructors with an easy to use lecture podcasting service.  As well, Campus ITS has partnered with Apple Computers to pilot publicly accessible University of Saskatchewan podcasting content via Apple's iTunes U service.  For more information, see Podcasting at the U of S.



Now Blog!
Create a blog post about what you thought of the podcasts you listened to/viewed. Do you think you might start subscribing to podcasts or consider podcasting yourself?

***Don't forget to mark this week's activity as complete in the 23 Things Work Completed Spreadsheet so you can qualify for our grand prize draw.