Thing 3 . Set Up Your Blog

It's time to set up your very own blog to begin recording your progress and thoughts on the MA On a Stick. There are several free online blog hosting services including Wordpress & Typepad, but we recommend Blogger, a Google product. If you have never written or read a blog, here is a quick explanation:



Your "news" in this blog is your progress on the Things. Your community of people who will be reading your blog are the other students in MA On a Stick--and maybe teachers, parents, and others--who are reading your blog posts. So keep that in mind when you post.

Before you start:

• You will need a Google Account to set up your blog. If you don't have one, Blogger will prompt you to set one up. Consider setting up a separate account for this project, not your usual email. In Blogger, your email becomes your username. Your display name is how your posts are signed. Don't use your real name--use initials or a nickname.
• You will need a blog name--this is what appears on the banner like MA On a Stick.
• You will create a URL. This must be unique, since it is your blog address. Be sure to check availability.
• Remember that we will be able to see your blog title and blog address. Create a name that reflects the On a Stick program, but is uniquely yours.
• Please remember your URL address. You can bookmark it on your home computer.
  

Set up your blog by following these steps:

Blogger Settings

1. Be sure that you have enabled comments. We want to comment on your posts, as do other MA bloggers.

Under the Settings Tab, click the Comments link.

1. We recommend the second choice under Who Can Comment? Registered Users.
   
2. If you want to moderate comments (review all comments before they are published) scroll down and turn moderation on.
   
3. If you want others (up to 10 people) to know when you receive a comment, you can enter their email addresses in the box near the bottom of that page.

Click Save Settings once you are done.

2. Under the Setting--Basic tab, chose No under Let search engines find your blog--this is a safety issue since you are students.

3. Select your template.

• The fun part--Blogger has several templates so choose one that fits you. The first Choose Template screen has only a few; choose one. If you want to experiment with other Templates after your blog is set-up, go to Layout and choose Pick New Template. You will see many more choices. Try some; it is easy to see how your blog will look in the different choices.

Hints

• If you run into problems, check out Blogger's Help file and Tutorial.
• Be sure your blog title appears on the masthead of your blog. Go to settings and enter it in the Title box if it does not appear.
• Spend some time exploring the features of Blogger—spell check, how to upload photos or video, font choices, text size and color, and more.
  

4. Create an avatar. (Optional)

• An avatar is an online representation of yourself. Go to http://avatars.yahoo.com/ to design an avatar. There are many choices for appearance, accessories, pets, etc. (You will have to set up an account if you don't use Yahoo!) You can make an avatar that resembles the "real you" or create an entirely new you (If only it were so easy!)
  
• Save your avatar and export to your blog.

5. Register your blog.

• Click here to register your blog. Once you have clicked the Register button, you are registered. You will not receive a confirmation email. SurveyMonkey, the tool we use for registration is very reliable; we will get the registration.
  
• We will add you to the MA On a Stick blog list in the motherblog sidebar. We will not list your name; only your blog's name. Remember, it may take a week or so to get your blog on the mother blog. Don't panic (and don't re-register!)--it will get there as soon as we can get it up.
  

You’re ready to start posting!

Whenever you complete a Thing, write a post reflecting your experience with the Thing you accomplished. Please clearly label each entry in your blog in with Thing number and the subject. We just need to be able to see which Thing you are doing. Read and comment on other MA bloggers’ posts, too. That’s part of being part of this library learning community. And everyone, likes feedback.

Each of your posts should provide insights into what you’ve discovered and learned. Share what worked for you, what didn’t, what you’ve shared with your colleagues, any surprises, frustrations, and eureka moments. We will offer some blog prompts to get you thinking, but don’t feel limited by those—splash out and share!

Each participant must have her/his own blog to record progress.

If you have the time and interest, explore some of Blogger's features:

1. 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. How about a poll?
   
2. Add third party features to your blog--visitor counts, email subscriptions and more. Feedburner and Sitemeter are two sources of additional features.
3. 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?

Thing 4. Online Word Processing Tools

Many people use email and attached documents to share various versions of a project. This may work, but there are several obstacles to smooth exchange and editing. Attachments may not open or you or your collaborators may not have the same software program or the right version to open and edit a document. It is easy to lose track of which is the current version with all the changes.

Web 2.0 tools make collaborating on creating a document or other publication easier. Documents are online and available from any computer with Internet access. Edits are easy to make and save. The program saves a document’s history with all changes made and indicates who made the changes. A full set of word processing tools makes formatting simple. Click the toolbar buttons to bold, underline, indent, change font or number format, change cell background color and so on.
There are several online office suites of tools. We will try out GoogleDocs. You need a Google account to use it.

You can use Google Docs to create basic word processing documents, presentations, or spreadsheets from scratch or you can upload your existing files. Google Docs accepts most popular file formats, including DOC, XLS, ODT, ODS, RTF, CSV, PPT, etc. You can share documents with a select group or make the document public.

Watch this introduction to Google Docs from Common Craft Show

Similar Tools
These online tools are similar to GoogleDocs.
Zoho Docs
Windows Office Live

Activities
1. Request access to this Google Doc. You will be given access as a collaborator, which means you will be able to edit the document.
2. Optional Set up a GoogleDocs account of your own and create a document for collaboration. Be sure to uncheck the boxes that let others invite collaborators and invitations may be used by anyone. This is a security feature. Invite others to collaborate.

Resources
Tutorials for Google Docs on YouTube
Google Docs Help

Blog Prompts
These are just to get you started. You don't have to answer any or all of these questions; they are just to help you think about something to say.

• Have you used online document creation/editing in the past? Which sites?
• Can you see a use for this in your work?
• Did you have any problems gaining access? Using the document or editing it?
• What are the pros and cons of using Google Docs or another online collaboration site?
  
• Can you see your teachers suing or encouraging using Google Docs in class? Why or why not?
• If you use Google Docs in class, be sure to blog about it!
  

Thing 5. Google Tools

Everyone uses Google. It has even become a verb--Googling. One of the things that makes Google so appealing in addition to the search is the range of tools that are available if you have a Google account. We could have 23 Things All About Google! However, in this Thing, we limit the exploration to some of the more useful, non-search tools and some of the lesser-known features of the search tools. You can find all Google Tools here.

For this Thing’s activities, choose at least one item from each category and experiment using it. Rather than re-create all of this info here, you will be re-directed to the More Things On a Stick wiki for the Google tools. Keep in mind this was written for library staff; if something says, "How would you use this in your library?" think school instead.

There are brief descriptions of the services and links to the Google tutorials/info about the tool and when available, other links to reviews, blog posts, and other evaluative information. If available, similar tools or services from other sources are listed if Google is not your cup of tea for everything you do.

Search Tools

• Alerts--Get email updates on any Google search term
  
• Google News--One search retrieves aggregated list of headline news
• SearchWiki--Customize Google search results
  
• Web History--Track your Google use

Productivity

• GMail--a new kind of webmail, built on the idea that email can be more intuitive, efficient, and useful.
• Calendar--free online shareable calendar service.
  
• Sites one click Web-site creation to collaborate & share info with family, friends, work, or groups.

Everyone should try this one--Goog-411. Put that right into your speed dial!

Blog Prompts
Think about these things when you blog.

• Which tools did you try?
• Are any of the tools useful for you, your family, school, other activities--teams, clubs, etc.?
• Useful in school?