Saturday, March 24, 2007

Joining Up...
Howard County Library is very pleased to announce our participation in the statewide Maryland Libraries Learning 2.0 - 23 Things project. Many libraries are participating in the program throughout the summer. Here at Howard County Library, the program will run from September 7 through November 21, 2007.

This page is designed to provide information about the program and to get you started. Please be sure to read through everything here and follow the directions. You'll need to visit Jaye's blog page as well, where you'll find find additional information and support (including information on the MP3 player).

Why Learning 2.0?
What is Web 2.0 and why is it important? Click on play under "Why Web 2.0?" You'll see the video "The Machine is Us/ing Us," a 5 minute video that helps to explain the webolution that's taking place. You Tube, Flickr, My Space, RSS, blogging... these are not fads. The ways in which the web is being utilized are changing. If we're not keeping pace with these emerging technologies, we will quickly become irrelevant. This project is designed to be a crash course to help you better understand and utilize these tools.


Getting Started

Step 1: Register for the program.
Registration is now closed. However, you can still sample the Things. Click on the Just 3 Things link to try out some of web 2.0 technologies that everyone's talking about.


Step 2:
Access the "Things"

Once you've registered, return to this page and click on the 23 Things link to the right to begin the program. The link takes you to the Maryland Libraries 2.0 page.

Step 3: Bookmark the page
You'll need to return to this page over and over again in the coming weeks as you work your way through the "Things." Bookmarking the page will make it easier for you to find it each time.

Thing 2 Learning Agreement
To complete Thing #2, you'll need to submit a Learning Agreement. The one found as an attachment to the slideshow "7 1/2 Habits of Lifelong Learners" has been replaced with a version specific to Howard County Library. You'll find it on the Staff Intranet.

Thing 4 Registering Your Blog
Set up your 23 Things Blog, which you will use to record your learning journey. To complete Thing #4, you'll need to Register Your Blog. The registration page will look familiar, as it is the same software you used to register for 23 Things. However, it is a separate registration and you'll need to complete it as well. Please use your WORK email address, as registration is monitored. Remember that your blog address can be anonymous on your blog, but Jaye needs to know the address so you can be added to our Participant Blog List.

Please be sure to e-mail Jaye once you have registered your blog.
She will also need your completed Tracking Log at the end of the project. Use your Tracking Log to list the URLs, or web addresses, for each of your blog posts. (Click on the post title to see the URL in the web address bar at the top of your screen.) You don't want to miss out on CEUs or prizes!

Thing 13 Del.icio.us
Unfortunately, the original link to the tutorial for Del.icio.us has been disabled. However, there's an excellent video explanation of of social bookmarking on YouTube. Click here to check it out.

There are also a few other good tutorials available. Click on one of these helpful tutorials:
http://tinyurl.com/ynszc8
Us.ef.ul: A beginners guide to Del.icio.us
Several Habits of wildly successful Del.icio.us users

Thing 17 Sandbox Wiki
Several people have had problems with the Merlin Sandbox Wiki. To circumvent this, a 23 Thigns wiki has been set up through SI. Click here to access the HCL 23 Things wiki.

Thing 22 Overdrive
There have been some struggles with downloading audiobooks to the iAudio MP3 players. John Jewitt has the solution in his blog post for Thing #22. Check it out.

CEUs and Prizes
Once your blog is registered, you will receive... drumroll, please... an MP3 Player! See Jaye's blog for details. You will also earn 1.8 CEUs by completing this program.
And as an added incentive, for the library system with the highest percentage of staff who complete the program, DLDS is supplying scholarships to attend the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas!


Questions?
Please contact your liaison, Jaye Holly if you have questions about this project.
Don't forget that she is not an instructor, but rather, a resource. You are encouraged to visit each other's blogs for ideas and help with the technologies.


Our Participant Blog List

In addition to the list below, don't forget to check out the blogs from other libraries statewide. You have the opportunity to work with and learn from lots of other library people across Maryland.