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Thing 24 Refresh Your Blog

Page history last edited by Ann WS 14 years, 11 months ago

Thing 24. Refresh Your Blog

Time to take that blog out of moth balls or set one up to join the fun!

 

 Learn 

 

We hope you have been adding to your blog since you finished Thing 23 by reflecting on the library world, books you’ve read, new Web 2.0 tools you tried, or anything else. With the beginning of More Things On a Stick, it’s time to give your blog a new look! If you used Blogger as most 23 Thingers did, you can find many ready-made templates that will give your blog a new look. You can go sophisticated, sedate, colorful, or wild.

 

Your blog is one of the most important Things. Your blog is how you record your progress on each of the Things. It connects you to others in this learning community and beyond. We encourage you to make it a personal and reflective spot.

 

When you complete each Thing, write a blog post that discusses your experience—good, bad, or other—on that thing. You can offer your opinions on the thing’s usefulness or its uselessness. Consider how you might use it in your library or personal life. You don’t need to write a lot about each thing, but be thoughtful and reflective. “I finished a Thing,” gets you no credit.

 

There are lots of discussion on the Web—in blogs—along the lines of “if a blogger gets no comments, is she really blogging.” The old if a tree falls in the woods argument. In the original Rounds, the multitype directors and staff tried to read and comment on all of their region’s blogs. Some of us did a better job than others!  We understand that feedback is important. We strongly encourage you to read other 23ers blogs and comment on them. Interacting with others via their blogs is a way to strengthen this learning community and meet others like you. 

 

Here is an interesting SlideShare presentation to remind you of why people blog. The 25 Basic Styles of Blogging ... And When To Use Each One

 

If you are new to 23 Things On a Stick, you can learn how to set up a blog by following the instructions in Thing 1.

 

 

Do

 

  1. Find a new look for your blog. In Blogger, Click the Layout tab. From here you can choose a new template and/or change the fonts and colors of your old or new template.
  2. Take a look at Page Elements. Blogger has added new Gadgets (called widgets on other sites) since we started 23 Things On a Stick.
  3. Add some information to your profile. From the Dashboard click Edit Profile and add some info. You don’t have to reveal all there is to know about you, but add enough information so we have a sense of your interests, your type of library, your region, and a few more bits of info.
  4. Consider your display name (Under Identity on Edit Profile page). Best practices indicate that in a learning community such as this one, knowing who the participants are contributes to the cohesiveness and collegiality of the community. You don’t have to put in your entire real name, but let us know who you are.  
  5. Time to give that avatar a new look! Refer to Thing 1 if you need help on avatars. Do a search on create an avatar. See the list below for some sites for avatars.
  6. Register your blog. Whether you have refreshed your original blog or created a new one, you must register for More Things On a Stick. Registration is closed. Please follow the instructions and enter the entire blog URL correctly! We export this and if the URL is incorrect, your blog may not open on the list! Once you have clicked the Send to More Things Team 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. Don't know your multitype region? Click here for a map.
  7. We will add you to the More Things on a Stick blog lists according to your region (see 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 wiki. This is not an automatic process. Metronet tries to enter the blogs Monday-Thursday, but it doesn't always happen. Don't panic (and don't re-register!)--it will get there as soon as we can get it up.
  8. Do check that your blog is there and goes where you expect it to when you click on the link. If it doesn't, email us at minn23@gmail.com.

Avatar Sites     

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 need to be able to see which Thing you are doing. Read and comment on other MoreThings 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!

 

 

Remember, each participant must have her/his own blog to record progress.

 

 

 

Blog Prompts

 

  1. How much have you blogged since you finished the 23 Things On a Stick?
  2. What do you like about blogging?
  3. Have you found other blogs to read?
  4. Do you comment on others' blogs?

 

 

 

For the Curious  (optional)

 

You can really change the look of your blog using third party sites that have developed Blogger templates. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of these from the silly to the sophisticated. Some sites might require free registration to download the templates:

 

 

 

How to install

http://www.templatesforblogger.com/2007/08/18/how-to-install-your-blogger-template/

 

 

Be sure to blog about your experience with using these third party templates.

 

 

 

 

 

Comments (7)

Caitlin said

at 8:31 pm on Feb 6, 2009

You're welcome. :)

Ann WS said

at 11:00 am on Feb 5, 2009

Thanks for the hint on the tables--hope it works for those with the viewing problem!

Caitlin said

at 8:59 pm on Feb 4, 2009

The text is in a fixed-width table; wiki admins should edit the table properties to make the width fluid (e.g. 100%), to account for different screen resolutions.

Ruth Solie said

at 2:59 pm on Feb 3, 2009

Megan - if you click on the triangle on the right side of the "edit" bar (at the top of the text box), it will open the text box wide enough to see all the text without scrolling. It will close the sidebar, but to see that again, just click on the same triangle to narrow the main box and restore the sidebar. This problem is probably related to the monitor you are using and does not have to do with formatting of the wiki. I have the same issue.

Marianne Hageman said

at 11:35 am on Jan 29, 2009

I too am not seeing all of the text, even after changing the display on my monitor and after your adjustment.

Ann WS said

at 5:05 pm on Jan 28, 2009

Better? I adjusted the borders.

Megan R said

at 2:57 pm on Jan 28, 2009

The way the page is set up, it only shows about 2/3 of the text. You then have to click in the box and use your arrow keys to move back and forth to be able to read it all. This may just be caused by the size of the screen I'm working on right now, but is there any way to change it. It makes it hard to get through.

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