Author: tw23things

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Week 9 – Things 20 and 21

Thing 20 – Plug-ins and Extensions, or some of Terri’s favourite tools.

I found this really nice book 20 Things I Learned About Browsers and the Web that you can read online.  I skipped the HTML and other coding pages, I’m not really interested in that stuff but I did learn why I don’t need to worry about my laptop getting hit by a bus.

Task

  1. Read Thing 8 and Thing 9 in that book link above for great explanations of Plug-ins and Extensions.

Where to find Plug-ins, Extensions and Add-ons

Google Chrome

In the upper right hand corner there are 3 horizontal lines.  Click those, got to more tools then extensions.  If you have any they will be listed here and this is where you manage them. At the very bottom of the page you can Get More Extensions.  Go ahead, explore!

Mozilla Firefox

Go to the three horizontal lines in the upper right hand corner.  This time, click on add-ons. Firefox has millions of add-ons, extensions and plugins.  Watch the video for more info then experiment!

Internet Explorer

Sorry, my experience is limited here.  Click on Tools in the upper right hand corner (I’m sensing a theme), it looks like a cog. Then pick Manage Add-ons.  In the lower left corner there are a couple of links to find and learn about toolbars and extensions.  I recommend following those links.

I use Firefox and Chrome. Some of my favourite add-ons include: Adblock Plus, Fire IE (sometimes a web page will only work in IE), and Email this!

If you downloaded and installed Feedly or LastPass they will show on your extensions page.  What about Pinterest, have you added a Pin-it button?  Go ahead, explore. Blog about your favourite plug-ins, add-ins and extensions

Thing 21 – LibraryThing

As a book lover, a student, or a researcher, you might have built a collection of your own books. But are your books hidden away on a shelf somewhere? Or still packed up in a box after moving? Do you enjoy discovering new and forgotten gems to read? If so, then LibraryThing may be just the tool for you. LibraryThing is a cataloging and social networking site for book lovers, including people like us who work in libraries.

Developed especially for book lovers, this online tool not only allows you to create an online catalogue of your own materials, but it also connects you to other people who have similar libraries and reading tastes. Simply add a book to your catalogue by entering title words, or other bibliographic details, and you will connect with individuals who share your reading interests.

There are many features to LibraryThing. It is an organizational aid, for example, that permits you to view your books on a virtual shelf.  You can also read reviews, participate in discussions, and learn about featured authors.

To get started, watch this short video that tells you about LibraryThing:

Now, why not create your own library online? With nearly 2,000,000 users and 90 million books already catalogued, you are bound to discover something new and worth reading!

Step 1:
Go to LibraryThing and create an account.

Step 2:
Add a least five books to your library.

Step 3:
Blog about your findings and be sure to link to your LibraryThing catalogue. How popular were your books? Did you find any discussions about your favourites?

Here are some useful LibraryThing links:

Whatsamatta you?

Don’t take that personally, I really really like you.  I’m concerned though, some of you aren’t blogging.  DON’T GIVE UP, you can do this.  Term is almost over, the snow is melting, year end is only a few days away and there will be cake soon.

Have a restful, relaxing weekend.

t

Week 7 – Things 16 and 17

Thing 16 – Evernote

Evernote is a cloud based tool for note taking, organising and archiving information (including photos and sound recordings) which allows the user to create tags and to arrange information into notebooks.  Evernote also allows you to easily share information with others and syncs across platforms.  It is quite powerful and can search for text even in images (eg. photos of slides).

Getting Started

Sign up with Evernote and have a look at their guide.

Download Evernote to your computer.

This would also be a good time to download Web Clipper. This tool will allow you to save text, links and images from the web. Please note that you will need Google Chrome to run Web Clipper.

A special note to Access Staff: Chrome may only be used on your desk computer – remember, we don’t use Chrome at the Circulation Desk for anything but LibChat/LibAnswers.

EXPLORE:

Task:

Download and explore Evernote. Save a photo and an email as notes.

S

Thing 17 – Google Drive and Dropbox

You know that Cloud people are always talking about?  Well I am not really sure what it is but I do know that it is where people store things.  I think it’s like Heaven, Elysium and the Promised Land, one of those things you can’t see you just have to believe it’s real.  Two of the apps used most often to store and access your own data in the cloud are Google Docs and Dropbox.

Google Drive (formerly Google Docs)

One of the best things about Google Drive is that you can create and edit documents online while collaborating with others in real-time without having to make duplicate or triplicate copies, and two or more of you can edit a document at the same time.  I know! Mind-blowing!

To experience this for your self, sign in to Google, click on the apps icon google moreand select “more” and then select “Docs” from the drop down menu. Create a new document (or try a spreadsheet if you want to get fancy) and enter your favourite things – see below for ideas. Try playing with the formatting if you like.

How about listing your 3 favourite films, books or songs (pubs, places you have been, recipes – whatever)?

Select share –  find someone to share with and enter their gmail address. Ask your friend to add their favourites to the list and to email you when it’s complete.  Or better yet, try to edit it together!

Remember: do not use Google docs for University business or for sharing sensitive documents.

Tasks

  1. Create a new document
  2. Share with a colleague, edit together if you can.

Dropbox

Dropbox is a free desktop application which allows you to store your documents online so that you can access them from multiple computers.

Like Google Drive, Dropbox can also be used when collaborating with others on a project as it enables easy file-sharing without the need for creating duplicates. For example, one person can drop documents and files into Dropbox and then invite other people to access and edit those files, but you can’t edit at the same time (which is confusing anyway, who wants more confusion in their lives?)

Tasks

If you don’t already have a Dropbox account, go to the Dropbox website and create one. Once you have created an account, you will be directed to a page that explains how to download Dropbox.

After you have downloaded and installed Dropbox, you will have a Dropbox folder on your computer where you can store any files that you want to share with others. You can access these files from any computer by logging into the Dropbox website with your username and password. From here, you can view, download and upload files securely using any web browser

One of my favourite things about Dropbox is the ability to share folders and things inside folders. You can share with someone whether they have a Dropbox account or not (but who wouldn’t want one?).  If you send invitations to people and they signup for an account through your invitation, you get more space in the cloud! (what ever that means).

Sharing with someone who already has a Dropbox account:
Go to the Dropbox website, log in if you aren’t already logged in, and click on the tab called ‘Sharing’.

Select the option to share an existing folder or create a new one, click ‘next’ and then select your folder. Enter the email address of someone with whom you wish to share your folder and click ‘share folder’. This will send an email inviting the recipient to view your folder via Dropbox. If the recipient is not yet a member of Dropbox, the email will direct them to page asking them to register.

Sharing with someone who does not have a Dropbox account:
Dropbox will also allow you to share with people who do not have a Dropbox account. Simply hover over the right-hand side of the listing in your online account and click ‘share link’, then either email the link or use the ‘get link’ button to copy the URL. This will give you a URL which links to your file and you can then paste this, for example, into emails or blog posts in order to share it with others.

Task

  1. Share a document using Dropbox

 GoogleDrive vs Dropbox vs OneDrive vs Box

Look around and see what you can learn about cloud storage services.  Remember to blog about it!

t

Assignments and Graduation, or there will be cake and a prize or two and CAKE

Hey There,

After a hard 10 week slog through snow drifts and weird internet terminology we will celebrate your determination with cake and dun dun dun… Marie has generously offered a gift card or two for which there will be a draw.  As you complete the 23Things and blog about them, you get cute little tick marks on my paper ledger (there must be a fun web 2.0 way to do this, must investigate).  Those who complete all 23 will have a chance to win!

Everyone will get cake.

Aside

Week 2 – Things 4, 5 and 6

Looks like this is going to be a busy week … let’s hope the snow doesn’t slow us down too much.

You’ve heard of RSS? You’ve seen those small funny orange icons on websites? You’ve heard friends and colleagues swear by it, but still have no idea what RSS is? 

RSS stands for “Really Simple Syndication” and is a file format for delivering regularly updated information over the web. Just think about the websites and news information sources you visit everyday. It takes time to visit those sites and scour the ad-filled and image-heavy pages for just the text you want to read, doesn’t it?

Now imagine if you could visit all those information sources and web pages in just one place and all at the same time … without being bombarded with advertising… without having to search for new information on the page you’d already seen or read before… and without having to consume a lot of time visiting each site individually. Would that be valuable to you? Well, it’s available now through a newsreader and RSS!  

This week’s Things focus on learning about RSS news feeds and what free tools you can use to do this.

  • View WPBeginner’s video What is RSS?  – This video explains what RSS feeds are, what are the benefits of RSS, how to use RSS feeds and how to take your WordPress RSS feeds to the next level.  
  • See also a short video on YouTube on how to add feeds.
  • Check out this article from PC Magazine – Top Free Picks: RSS Readers.

Tasks

  1. Select a Feed Reader and set up your own personalized account. Learn about the difference between RSS feed readers.
  2. Subscribe to at least 5 newsfeeds then blog about the Reader you selected and the feeds to which you subscribed.  If you’re struggling to find some newsfeeds, you can use the ones listed below…

Sample newsfeeds

… and don’t forget to add all the 23Things participant’s blogs to your reader.

 Thing 5 – Password Keepers

There are many options for web and mobile password keepers, your memory or a list kept on your desktop, but when it comes to security you want the best.  “It used to be that password keepers only had to encrypt your passwords.  Now the best password managers give you the options to sync or keep them local only, change web passwords with a click, log in to sites for you, and more.”  http://Lifehacker.com/tag/password-managers

Use different passwords everywhere

These days, people are getting pretty good at coming up with passwords that are long and complex, so that they can’t be guessed by hackers. But we’re all still pretty bad at not reusing passwords, and that’s dangerous. If you use the same password for any two of your accounts, then an attacker might only need to break into one of those two systems in order to break into the other. And because the bad guys can rely upon the majority of the people with accounts on the first system using the same passwords for their accounts on the second, this kind of attack is very popular.

Remembering hundreds of different passwords is just-about impossible, though. But the good news is, you don’t have to! There are a plethora of password managers: programs which will remember your passwords for you. Some keep your passwords securely on a pendrive, others store them encrypted on the web, others still represent a ‘formula’ by which passwords can be generated (and re-generated) on demand. Not only do these tools make you more secure online, but – once you get used to them – they actually make your online life faster and easier, too. Try one of these:

  • LastPass and DashLane are both easy-to-use, free, web-based password managers, with optional low-priced top-ups for extra features like smartphone editions and advanced two-factor authentication options
  • KeePass is free and open source, and runs on your computer or pendrive, which some people consider more convenient or secure, but can take a little more work to get started
  • SuperGenPass generates unique passwords for each site you use, based on a master password (that you don’t use anywhere else); instead of remembering passwords, you just re-generate them; and it’s free
  • Mac users might also consider 1Password (now available for other platforms too), and Unix geeks might like pass.

Tasks

  1. Select a password keeper and set up an account.

 Thing 6 – Creative Commons and Copyright

 Image by Opensourceway on Flickr

Image by Opensourceway on Flickr

Next week we will begin to look at images; it’s important to understand the basics of what you can and can’t use online. This post won’t/can’t cover it all (governments are grappling with the complexities of online copyright as we speak!), but we’ll look at Creative Commons and how it frees us to share and reuse online.

Creative Commons is a nonprofit organisation that offers a simple, standardized way to give public permission to share and/or use your creative work. CC licenses offer various levels of permissions, from ‘all rights reserved’ to ‘some rights reserved’. CC licenses are now commonly found on photos, blogs (including this blog), published material, teaching resources, music and more.

.Creative Commons License
An example of a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License

A video to explain Creative Commons. 

Tasks

  1. Take a look at the types of licenses available on the CC license page. Think about whether any of these might be appropriate for any of your work.
  2. Consider adding a Creative Commons license to your blog or another piece of online work by using the ‘Choose a license’ page. Hint: search WordPress help for how to insert a creative commons widget.

 Canada Copyright

And an explanation of copyright in Canada 

Copyright law exists to protect the intellectual standing and economic rights of creators and publishers of all literary, dramatic, artistic, musical, audiovisual and electronic works. As long as the work is original, copyright protection is automatic. You break copyright if you:

  •   copy work
  •   issue copies of the work
  •   perform, show or play the work in public
  •   broadcast the work
  •   adapt the work …..without permission from the copyright owner

Websites that rely on collaboration, user contribution and the sharing of files all run the risk of breaking copyright law. Even using somebody else’s photograph without permission on your website can get you into serious trouble.   The safest way to proceed is to ask the creator for permission to use their content, or to look for content registered under Creative Commons.

Libel, defamation, harassment and loss of reputation

Some individuals could use a social networking site, blog or wiki to criticize an organisation or post libelous, inappropriate or illegal content. In 2014 two individuals were convicted of sending abusive tweets to Caroline Criado-Perez.  The ability for people to anonymously post defamatory and offensive comments on social media sites is of major concern to local authorities and individuals. Some authorities will have guidelines for the use of Web 2.0 for business purposes. Remember that bad press gets round fast with social media.

Tasks

  1. Watch this commoncraft video on Social Media and the Workplace.
  2. Read SMU’s policy for social media.

Now that you have a blog, it’s possible to moderate people’s comments before they are published, but if you do moderate then you are legally responsible for the content, so you could be liable if it breaches copyright or is defamatory. Legally, it’s simpler not to moderate and publish full disclaimers.  You can find examples of blog disclaimers by searching google.

Most Web 2.0 software is free as it comes with third party advertising: some of these adverts may be inappropriate or offensive and could become associated with yourself or your library authority. Loss of reputation could also occur if editorial attention is not paid to any contributions made to a site (on a wiki for example) and the site becomes badly organized or publishes inaccurate information.

Finally, think about what you are saying about your employer when you use social media. Internet history is littered with people who bad-mouthed their boss or colleagues during a drunken night on Facebook, and got fired the next day. If you’re going to vent your anger, do it at the pub rather than in writing.