Hello and thank you for starting to register your blogs.
We are having some difficulty registering Fiona's 12 Things as the URL is not recognised.
Please could you complete the registration form again. The URL will look like this [name].blogspot.co.uk
Have a look at sanghagirl and Web Spider to see what we mean.
Thanks!
Monday 17 September 2012
Thing 1: Blogs
Thing 1 Blogs
Welcome to 12 Things and Thing 1. Each fortnight, we will tell you about our Thing, and then we will ask you to do certain tasks in relation to it - your Thing. By the end of the course we will have told you about 6 Things and you will have explored 6 Things - hence 12 things before Christmas!
During the course of 12 Things you will be expected to blog your experiences, thoughts or reflections on each Thing and on the course generally. Your comments will be seen by us and your fellow participants.And, in fact, by anyone on the web!
To do that, it will be necessary for you to set up and register a blog with us, but more about that later....
Your blog is an essential component of this course. It lets us and others know that you are exploring each Thing. The purpose of the course is to introduce you to web 2.0 tools you may not have used before, but also to encourage you to share your experiences with others on the course and on the web.
It is entirely up to you what kind of style you adopt for your blog posts. You can be chatty and conversational, irreverent, humorous, serious, formal or informal. You can stick to the Things or blog about other things. It’s your choice, but we do ask you to share your experiences of the things. In fact, this will be one of your tasks (your Things) for each Thing. Your blog can also be anonymous - there’s no need to say who you are if you would rather not! It’s entirely up to you.
To kick off Thing 1 lets look at what blogs are, how they might be useful to you, and how to create one.
What are blogs?
Google's Blogger hosted by Blogspot, defines a blog:
"A blog is a personal diary. A daily pulpit. A collaborative space. A political soapbox. A breaking-news outlet. A collection of links. Your own private thoughts. Memos to the world. Your blog is whatever you want it to be. There are millions of them, in all shapes and sizes, and there are no real rules. In simple terms, a blog is a website, where you write stuff on an ongoing basis. New stuff shows up at the top, so your visitors can read what's new. Then they comment on it or link to it or email you. Or not. "
A blog (or web-log) is essentially a webpage that displays entries in a chronological order, a bit like an online diary. They are easy to set up and there are lots of free providers. Blogs are usually interactive and allow readers to comment on the posts being made. They also feature RSS so that readers can set up feeds to alert them to new posts or comments on the blog (more about RSS in Thing 2) Feeds can also be used to publish the blog content on other websites without having to update them separately. If you want to know more about blogs in general, check out the Wikipedia article on blogs.
Why blog?
People blog to share and disseminate information. On a personal level individuals may blog to share news with family and friends. On a professional level, reasons that researchers, students and clinicians blog may include:
Can you think of any other reasons why researchers, academics, students or clinicians might use blogs? Why not post a comment on this blog, below?
Your Thing:
Task 1: Create your own blog and register it with us.
Throughout the 12 Things programme we'll all be communicating and sharing our experiences through blog entries. You'll need to write on your own blog about each 'Thing' you complete. Your blog will become your personal journal to track your progress, recording your thoughts, discoveries and exercises. For those new to blogging, you will soon see the potential for sharing information within your team, with users and even your family. I encourage you to track not only what you learn, but also how you apply each tool in your life. You can choose to use a screen name if you prefer to keep yourself anonymous. If you are not sure how much to write, don’t be shy – write as much as you like!
Blogs are usually set up using a blogging platform, but then you can customise and personalise your blog to make it look like your own websites. This blog is made available using Blogger, which is fairly simple to use so we shall give instructions for setting up your own blog on Blogger. Feel free to use another platform if you prefer, such as WordPress, or Tumblr. Alternatively if you already have a personal blog and prefer to use that for 12 Things then please do. Once you have created your blog please click the Tab at the top of the blog to complete the registration form with the website address for your blog so we can create a link to it from the 12 Things blog.
Your Thing:
Task 1: Create your own blog and register it with us.
How to set up a blog with Blogger
Go to Blogger and log in with your Google account. (If you don't have a Google account you will need to set one up - click on the 'Don't have a Google Account? Get Started' link).
Tips: Altering the design of your blog
Feel free to play about with the design of your blog and customise it if you have time. You might want to look at some other blogs to get ideas about the layout and design and what to include.
Congratulations - you have created your Blog. Now let’s start blogging!
How to create your first blog post
If you are using Blogger you can follow these instructions to create your first blog post:
Your Thing:
Task 2: Write Something!
To start off your blogging write a post about why you're taking part in the course. You could talk what you're hoping to learn from 12 Things, which of the Things you're most (or least) looking forward to, how you feel about being a new blogger or how you'd like to improve your blogging, or anything else that relates to why you're doing this!
If you'd like to read more on blogs and blogging, take a look at Ned Potter's 'Everything you've ever wanted to know about library blogs and blogging!' and follow the links he suggests.
Your Thing:
Task 3: Leave some comments on other Blogs!
Now go and visit some blogs of other 12 Things participants - take a look at the “My Blog List” on this blog - read some posts and leave some comments to let the authors know what you thought. Don’t be shy! What did you enjoy about their post? Do you have similar or contrasting experience to share? Or just say hello to let them know someone is reading!
Being able to comment and discuss ideas is what makes blogging - and social media in general - so useful and valuable as a tool for personal and professional development. Comments on your own blog can offer advice and support, they might point you towards useful resources, or they might challenge your opinions and help you refine your arguments. By commenting on other people's blog you're likely to think more deeply about what you've read and what you think about an issue, you'll also be able to share some of your expertise, and you'll get your face (or, at least your moniker) more widely known. It can be daunting to comment on the blog of someone you may never have met, but do take the plunge, even if it's just to say hello, or to say that you enjoyed a post.
To finish off, once you've explored a few of the other 12 Things blogs, write a short post on your blog about what you've read and who you've met.
How to search for blogs
So where do you start if you want to find other people's blogs? You might want to try one of the following blog search tools: Google blog search, Technorati blog directory, IceRocket. The Webicina website is a useful tool for finding blogs (and other social media) arranged by medical disciplines. It even has a section on Medical Librarianship.
OPTIONAL EXTRAS
1. Find an example of a blog and share it on your blog
We've already discussed some of the reasons why researchers, students or clinicians might want to use blogs. Now find an example (or more than one if you're feeling keen!) of a blog that might be of interest to people in medicine and healthcare, or another subject area if you prefer. You might be able to identify a blog that is written by these types of people, or a blog written by an organisation or connected to an event that might be of interest to this user group. Where possible it might be most useful if you were able to find UK examples. Blog about the example(s) you have identified. How much you write about it is totally up to you.
2. Add features from Blogger's selections on Layout and Settings pages. Add a blog roll of blogs of your fellow participants or of other interesting blogs you've found. Add photos or video. Add email subscriptions or link to your Twitter account if you have one.
3. Already have a Blogger blog? Explore other blogging software and compare and contrast features. Which ones have great features? Which one would you recommend?
4. Be sure to blog about your experience with the other blogging software and/or third party features. Any features you think all blogs should have?
Don’t forget to blog about your experiences of thing 1. If you can’t think of how to get started, these questions may be helpful, but don’t feel you have to answer all of them. Just tell us about your experiences with blogging:
How was it for you? What did you find easy or difficult? How would you use blogging in a library service? Can you think of ways in which blogging may be useful for some of your library users? Do you think you will continue to blog, either at work or on a personal level?
Congratulations on completing Thing 1. We hope you enjoyed it. Thing 2 is all about keeping up to date, and will be posted on 1st October.
Welcome to 12 Things and Thing 1. Each fortnight, we will tell you about our Thing, and then we will ask you to do certain tasks in relation to it - your Thing. By the end of the course we will have told you about 6 Things and you will have explored 6 Things - hence 12 things before Christmas!
During the course of 12 Things you will be expected to blog your experiences, thoughts or reflections on each Thing and on the course generally. Your comments will be seen by us and your fellow participants.And, in fact, by anyone on the web!
To do that, it will be necessary for you to set up and register a blog with us, but more about that later....
Your blog is an essential component of this course. It lets us and others know that you are exploring each Thing. The purpose of the course is to introduce you to web 2.0 tools you may not have used before, but also to encourage you to share your experiences with others on the course and on the web.
It is entirely up to you what kind of style you adopt for your blog posts. You can be chatty and conversational, irreverent, humorous, serious, formal or informal. You can stick to the Things or blog about other things. It’s your choice, but we do ask you to share your experiences of the things. In fact, this will be one of your tasks (your Things) for each Thing. Your blog can also be anonymous - there’s no need to say who you are if you would rather not! It’s entirely up to you.
To kick off Thing 1 lets look at what blogs are, how they might be useful to you, and how to create one.
What are blogs?
Google's Blogger hosted by Blogspot, defines a blog:
"A blog is a personal diary. A daily pulpit. A collaborative space. A political soapbox. A breaking-news outlet. A collection of links. Your own private thoughts. Memos to the world. Your blog is whatever you want it to be. There are millions of them, in all shapes and sizes, and there are no real rules. In simple terms, a blog is a website, where you write stuff on an ongoing basis. New stuff shows up at the top, so your visitors can read what's new. Then they comment on it or link to it or email you. Or not. "
A blog (or web-log) is essentially a webpage that displays entries in a chronological order, a bit like an online diary. They are easy to set up and there are lots of free providers. Blogs are usually interactive and allow readers to comment on the posts being made. They also feature RSS so that readers can set up feeds to alert them to new posts or comments on the blog (more about RSS in Thing 2) Feeds can also be used to publish the blog content on other websites without having to update them separately. If you want to know more about blogs in general, check out the Wikipedia article on blogs.
Why blog?
People blog to share and disseminate information. On a personal level individuals may blog to share news with family and friends. On a professional level, reasons that researchers, students and clinicians blog may include:
- to disseminate their work and gain global impact quickly without the constraints of traditional scholarly communications
- to publicise their publications or events they are involved in
- to share ideas, comments, news or information and to build up professional networks
- to exchange information or progress with a particular group of people, such as a research or project group
- to reflect on their work or events attended to aid their professional development
- to keep up to date by monitoring blogs created by other people or organisations
Can you think of any other reasons why researchers, academics, students or clinicians might use blogs? Why not post a comment on this blog, below?
Your Thing:
Task 1: Create your own blog and register it with us.
Throughout the 12 Things programme we'll all be communicating and sharing our experiences through blog entries. You'll need to write on your own blog about each 'Thing' you complete. Your blog will become your personal journal to track your progress, recording your thoughts, discoveries and exercises. For those new to blogging, you will soon see the potential for sharing information within your team, with users and even your family. I encourage you to track not only what you learn, but also how you apply each tool in your life. You can choose to use a screen name if you prefer to keep yourself anonymous. If you are not sure how much to write, don’t be shy – write as much as you like!
Blogs are usually set up using a blogging platform, but then you can customise and personalise your blog to make it look like your own websites. This blog is made available using Blogger, which is fairly simple to use so we shall give instructions for setting up your own blog on Blogger. Feel free to use another platform if you prefer, such as WordPress, or Tumblr. Alternatively if you already have a personal blog and prefer to use that for 12 Things then please do. Once you have created your blog please click the Tab at the top of the blog to complete the registration form with the website address for your blog so we can create a link to it from the 12 Things blog.
Your Thing:
Task 1: Create your own blog and register it with us.
How to set up a blog with Blogger
Go to Blogger and log in with your Google account. (If you don't have a Google account you will need to set one up - click on the 'Don't have a Google Account? Get Started' link).
- First choose a profile - either Google+ or Blogger - you can choose Blogger if not using Google+.
- Choose a Display Name and click "Continue to Blogger"
- Now Click "New Blog" in the top left.
- Choose a name and URL (website address), plus a template (how you want it to look) for your blog and click on Continue. NB. Try to think of one that is easy to spell, remember and say (for when you're telling people your blog address!) Remember that the whole web world can see your blog title and blog address. You probably don’t want to use your real name. Consider creating a blog name that’s anonymous, yet uniquely you. The URL for your blog will look like this example - http://librarywriting.blogspot.com/ (this is a real blog so of course you need to give your own blog its own unique name). The format is name.blogspot.com when you use blogger.com software.
- Click "Create Blog".
- Please remember your URL address and/or bookmark it.
- You should now have a page confirming that your blog has been created. You can now start blogging by clicking the orange pencil. This takes you through to creating your first post but don't worry about that for now, we'll show you how to create a post later. At any time you can view your blog by clicking on View Blog. You can also go to the settings, where you can customise your blog by clicking the down-arrow.
- Now please complete the registration form at http://12thingseoe.blogspot.co.uk/p/register-your-blog.html (or click on the Tab at the top of this page) with the URL of your blog so we can link to it from this blog.
Tips: Altering the design of your blog
Feel free to play about with the design of your blog and customise it if you have time. You might want to look at some other blogs to get ideas about the layout and design and what to include.
- Templates: You can change the template you have chosen by going to "Template" in the Settings menu. Blogger is quite limited in the templates it provides but you can download alternative templates for free, eg. from BTemplates.com (these are downloaded as zip files from which you'll need to extract the .xml file). In the Template menu in Blogger, click on Edit HTML. Browse for your template saved on your computer and select Upload.
- Gadgets: From the Layout menu you can choose to add or remove the various gadgets, or elements, that are displayed on your blog page. Click on Add a Gadget to browse and select new gadgets. For example, you can link to Twitter, add a list of Blogs you follow, or give your readers the option to subscribe to your blog by email or RSS. You can always Edit or Remove these later. You can also move them around on your screen by dragging and dropping them.
Congratulations - you have created your Blog. Now let’s start blogging!
How to create your first blog post
If you are using Blogger you can follow these instructions to create your first blog post:
- Click on the Orange pencil or the New Post button if you're on a different screen.
- Enter a title for your post and start typing! You can format the text using the toolbar at the top of the box.
Your Thing:
Task 2: Write Something!
To start off your blogging write a post about why you're taking part in the course. You could talk what you're hoping to learn from 12 Things, which of the Things you're most (or least) looking forward to, how you feel about being a new blogger or how you'd like to improve your blogging, or anything else that relates to why you're doing this!
- You can add tags to your blog post by entering words separated by commas in the Labels to the right of your screen (under "Post Settings"). These can help people find entries in your blog later, just like we might add subject headings to a catalogue record when cataloguing a book. We suggest you add the tag Thing 1 and 12thingseoe, and any other tags of your choice.
- Be sure that you have enabled comments. We want to comment on your posts, as do others. Under Post Settings on the right of your screen, click "Options" and select "Allow" under Readers Comments. Click done.
- Click on Preview to see your post before you publish it. When ready you can click on Publish Post.
- Tip: Insert images or videos using the links on the toolbar to make your blog more interesting visually, but make sure you abide by copyright restrictions!
If you'd like to read more on blogs and blogging, take a look at Ned Potter's 'Everything you've ever wanted to know about library blogs and blogging!' and follow the links he suggests.
Your Thing:
Task 3: Leave some comments on other Blogs!
Now go and visit some blogs of other 12 Things participants - take a look at the “My Blog List” on this blog - read some posts and leave some comments to let the authors know what you thought. Don’t be shy! What did you enjoy about their post? Do you have similar or contrasting experience to share? Or just say hello to let them know someone is reading!
Being able to comment and discuss ideas is what makes blogging - and social media in general - so useful and valuable as a tool for personal and professional development. Comments on your own blog can offer advice and support, they might point you towards useful resources, or they might challenge your opinions and help you refine your arguments. By commenting on other people's blog you're likely to think more deeply about what you've read and what you think about an issue, you'll also be able to share some of your expertise, and you'll get your face (or, at least your moniker) more widely known. It can be daunting to comment on the blog of someone you may never have met, but do take the plunge, even if it's just to say hello, or to say that you enjoyed a post.
To finish off, once you've explored a few of the other 12 Things blogs, write a short post on your blog about what you've read and who you've met.
How to search for blogs
So where do you start if you want to find other people's blogs? You might want to try one of the following blog search tools: Google blog search, Technorati blog directory, IceRocket. The Webicina website is a useful tool for finding blogs (and other social media) arranged by medical disciplines. It even has a section on Medical Librarianship.
OPTIONAL EXTRAS
Every
week we'll have some optional extras which will take you beyond the
basics of the topic being covered, which you can investigate if you are
interested and have the time. There are 4 optional extras here - you
don’t have to do them all or you don't have to do any of them - it's up to you!
1. Find an example of a blog and share it on your blog
We've already discussed some of the reasons why researchers, students or clinicians might want to use blogs. Now find an example (or more than one if you're feeling keen!) of a blog that might be of interest to people in medicine and healthcare, or another subject area if you prefer. You might be able to identify a blog that is written by these types of people, or a blog written by an organisation or connected to an event that might be of interest to this user group. Where possible it might be most useful if you were able to find UK examples. Blog about the example(s) you have identified. How much you write about it is totally up to you.
2. Add features from Blogger's selections on Layout and Settings pages. Add a blog roll of blogs of your fellow participants or of other interesting blogs you've found. Add photos or video. Add email subscriptions or link to your Twitter account if you have one.
3. Already have a Blogger blog? Explore other blogging software and compare and contrast features. Which ones have great features? Which one would you recommend?
4. Be sure to blog about your experience with the other blogging software and/or third party features. Any features you think all blogs should have?
Don’t forget to blog about your experiences of thing 1. If you can’t think of how to get started, these questions may be helpful, but don’t feel you have to answer all of them. Just tell us about your experiences with blogging:
How was it for you? What did you find easy or difficult? How would you use blogging in a library service? Can you think of ways in which blogging may be useful for some of your library users? Do you think you will continue to blog, either at work or on a personal level?
Congratulations on completing Thing 1. We hope you enjoyed it. Thing 2 is all about keeping up to date, and will be posted on 1st October.
Thursday 6 September 2012
Welcome
Welcome to the East of England NHS Libraries 12 Things. Over the next few weeks we will be looking at how our users, NHS staff, clinicians, researchers or students might want to make use of Web 2.0 or social media applications in relation to their work or studies. At the same time we will be exploring how to use these tools ourselves.
Each fortnight we will publish a new Thing (Our Thing), and you will then have your Thing to complete (therefore 12 Things!). Within Your Thing there will be tasks for you to complete at a time convenient to you. Don't worry if you don't manage to do them within the fortnight, there will be a reflective week in October, plus there will be a few weeks after the end of the programme to finish off. Within each Thing, we will also provide extra information and links for exploring resources and tools further if you are interested and have any extra time to spare.
12 Things will start on Monday 17th September 2012.
Each fortnight we will publish a new Thing (Our Thing), and you will then have your Thing to complete (therefore 12 Things!). Within Your Thing there will be tasks for you to complete at a time convenient to you. Don't worry if you don't manage to do them within the fortnight, there will be a reflective week in October, plus there will be a few weeks after the end of the programme to finish off. Within each Thing, we will also provide extra information and links for exploring resources and tools further if you are interested and have any extra time to spare.
12 Things will start on Monday 17th September 2012.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)