Challenge #4 Using Flickr to store, display, share and organize your photographs

 

 

 

 

The problem – I’m taking a lot more pictures with my digital camera than I ever did with my old film camera, but it seems like a big chore to download the shots, print them out and then organize them the old way: in photo albums. I never get around to it.

 

 

 

The answer – Flickr (http://www.flickr.com) is an online photo management and sharing application. Its two stated goals are: 1. to help people make their content available to the people who matter to them, and 2. to enable new ways of organizing photos and video.

 

 

 

An initial Flickr account is free. You can upload 100MB worth of photos each calendar month. With a free account you are limited to only a few sets or groups of photos. For $24.95 per year you can get a “pro” account that gives you unlimited uploads and storage, unlimited sets and collections, video uploads, and statistics on your account.

 

 

 

 

 

What else can I do with Flickr?

  •   Upload a bunch of pictures with an easy uploader that you can install from Flickr onto your desktop. You can even send photos to Flickr from an email or even directly from your cameraphone.

  • Add titles and descriptions to your photos. You can also mark areas of photos and add popup “notes.” Create “sets” and “collections” (with a pro membership) and organize your photos with a mouse click.

  • Join your friends and family with Flickr. You can designate your photos “public” or only share them with individuals or groups of people whom you designate “friends” or “family”. You can also control whether or not your photos can be viewed, copied or downloaded by anyone using Flickr.

  • Use Groups to find other Flickr users with interests similar to yours. Share your pictures with new friends.

  • Tag your photos to make them findable. Receive email alerts when someone comments on one of your photos or selects it as a favorite.

 

 

 

 

Your TechTrek Challenge

 

 

 

  1.  Go to www.flickr.com and click create your account.

  2. Upload some photos from your computer or look at their other uploading tools (http://www.flickr.com/tools/ ) and upload from your mobile phone or by attaching a photo to an email.

  3. Invite a friend or family member (who uses a computer and a digital camera) to join Flickr and share photos. Even if your friend or relative only has a computer, they can still view your photos, which is great!

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Challenge #3   Instant Messaging Using Meebo

 

What is instant messaging and what are libraries using it for?

 

Instant messaging (or IM or chat) is text-based, real time communication over the Internet.  It's very much like a telephone conversation except typed.  It's a very popular form of communication, especially among teenagers.  America Online, Google, Yahoo and MSN all offer their own IM services.  Many libraries are using it to provide reference service.  An exhaustive list can be found here on the Library Success Wiki.

 

What is Meebo? 

 

Meebo is a web-based IM service.  From its web site, www.meebo.com, you can access every major IM service from one place.   Using their Meebo Me service you can create a widget that lets visitors to your web page chat with you even if they don't have their own IM account.

 

This is the widget on the Roxbury Library home page.

 

 

So here's your next trek.

 

1. Go to the Roxbury Library home page, www.roxburylibrary.org.

 

2. Make sure that the widget says that Roxref is online.

 

3. Say "Hi" to the Reference Librarian.  Just click on the widget and type your message in the lower, smaller box.  You should get a reply in a minute or two. 

 

 

 

Challenge #2   Wikis

 

 

 

What are wikis and how are libraries using them?

 

 

A wiki is a website that allows users to easily add, remove, or edit content.  The structure of a wiki lends itself as a  discussion medium, a repository for information and a tool for collaboration between users.  Libraries have been among some of the earliest adopters of the wiki format.  They have found uses for them as tools for collaboration, research guides and pathfinders, a repository for library best practices, and the ALA conference wiki.

Here are some of the benefits to using a wiki:

 

1.    You don’t need to know HTML to create or edit a wiki.  
2.    The wiki software comes with tracking tools.  This allows users to view changes to a page and to see who made the changes.  All versions of the wiki will be archived so changes don’t have to be permanent. 
3.    Anyone can make changes, edit, or remove content.   Or you can use a password to protect some or all of your wiki. 

 

 

 

Here's your next Trek:

1. Take a look at the wikis posted below.

 

 

 

2. Using our wiki, discuss what you see as useful and exciting about wikis on the Wiki Discussion page. You will need to login using the password: trekkers. 

 

 

 Additional Information

 

 

Here are 2 popular tools for creating wikis. Know of one not listed? Add it!

 

PBwiki: This site says creating a wiki is as easy as making a peanut butter sandwich, features

an attractive design, an easy-to-use interface, RSS feeds, and the option to password-protect

content. Some features are fee-based. <http://www.pbwiki.com/>

 

Wikispaces: Wikispaces is a free tool for K-12 educators. The education-specific pages are

private so only space members can edit them. With its easy editing interface, Wikispaces is a

good choice for teachers getting started with wikis.

<http://www.wikispaces.com/site/for/teachers>

 

For a comprehensive comparison of other wiki platforms, visit WikiMatrix

<http://www.wikimatrix.org/>.

 

 

 

 Challenge #1   Google Groups

  1. Your first challenge is to join and introduce yourself to our Tech Trekkers Google Group.  Google Groups is a free service that allows groups to work and communicate freely using email and the Web.  By participating in our group, you will be able to post questions and discussion items, read other comments and suggestions, and email someone from the HRLC Tech Committee. During the challenge, this forum will give you direct access to someone if you need help and is a place for you to learn from others.  

     

 

Here's how to get started:

    Go to Google Groups (http://groups.google.com)

    Click on "Sign-In" (top right corner)

 

    Sign in using the following email and password: EMAIL: hrlctrekkers@gmail.com   PASSWORD: hrlctrek

    Click on "Tech Trekkers" under "My Groups"

    Click on the Discussion heading, "Meet the Tech Trek Participants"

    Just hit "Reply" and tell us a little about yourself!

 

Additional Information

    Want to know more about Google Groups?

 

 


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