Thing 7: Blog about technology

Hello Canberra Learning 2.0 participants.

Here's a simple message regarding this discovery activity:

For this thing, simply blog about anything technology related. Yes, it can be anything that relates to technology! You just need to share a few thoughts.

PS: Also see if you can add at least one comment to another participant's blog. That's what online communities are all about - connecting and communication :)

Thing 6: More Flickr fun

Like many web 2.0 sites, Flickr has encouraged other people to build their own online applications using images found on the site. Through the use of APIs (application programming interfaces), many people have created third party tools and mashups* that use Flickr images. Here is a sample of just a few …

• Mappr - allows you to take Flickr images and paste them on a map


• Flickr Color Pickr - lets you find public photos in Flickr that match a specific color


• Montagr – create a photo mosaic from photos found on Flickr

Discover more mashups, web apps, and Flickr tools.

Discovery Exercise

Your discovery exercise for this “thing” is to:

1. Explore some of the fun Flickr mashups and 3rd party tools that are out there.


2. Create a blog post about one that intrigues you.

Personally one of my very favorite tools is FD Toys’ Trading Card Maker. And there’s a ton of librarians out there that have created their own Librarian Trading Card.

So have some fun discovering and exploring some neat little apps. And if you're up to the challenge while you’re at it, why not create a trading card of your own. :)

* Mashup Note: Wikipedia offers some great articles that explain mashups. Basically they are hybrid web applications that take features from one application (like Flickr) and mash it up with another (like a map). In this example, you get Mappr (http://mappr.com).

PS: Learning 2.0 image created by Spell with Flickr.

Thing 5: Discover Flickr

Listen to this podcast [2:38]-->powered by ODEO

Photo sharing websites have been around since the '90s, but it took a small startup site called Flickr to catapult the idea of “sharing” into a full blown online community. In 2006, Flickr became the fastest growing photo sharing site on the web and is known as one of the first websites to use keyword “tags” to create associations and connections between photos and users of the site.

For this discovery exercise, you are asked to take a good look at Flickr and discover what this site has to offer. Find out how tags work, what groups are, and all the neat things that people and other libraries (list also here) are using Flickr for.

Discovery Resources

• Flickr Learn More tour (6 steps)


• Flickr: Popular tags and Interesting - Last 7 Days tags


• Flickr Services (3rd party applications & mashups) and let’s not forget to look at some other libraries on Flickr

Discovery Exercise

In this discovery exercise, you have two options…

A. Take a good look around Flickr and discover an interesting image that you want to blog about. Be sure to include either a link to the image or, if you create a Flickr account, you can use Flickr's blogging tool to add the image in your post. Another option you have for including images in your post is to use Blogger's photo upload tool.

OR

B. If you're up to an easy challenge ... create a free account in Flickr and use a digital camera to capture a few pictures of something (it might be something in your library or maybe something from home). Upload these to your Flickr account and tag at least one of the images "Canberralearning2" (all one word) and mark it public. Then create a post in your blog about your photo and experience. Be sure to include the image in your post. Once you have a Flickr account, you have two options for doing this: through Flickr's blogging tool or using Blogger's photo upload feature.

So go ahead, explore the site and have some Flickr photo fun and if you're interested in looking at some photo hosting sites, then why not check out Jamie's recommendations & this Wired story. (Thanks Jamie for the link).

PS: A quick word about photo posting etiquette - When posting identifiable photos of other people (especially minors) is it advisable to get the person's permission before posting their photo in a publicly accessible place like Flickr. Never upload pictures that weren't taken by you (unless you have the photographer's consent) and always give credit when you include photos taken by someone else in your blog.