Blog Course Demo

Survey - Writing for Social Media for PMD

2011-08-31T13:30:00.000+08:00

Examples of social media sites - Writing For Social Media Workshop 10 Mar 2010

2010-03-10T13:38:00.003+08:00

Singapore Civil Defence Force
http://twitter.com/SCDF

REACH Singapore
http://twitter.com/reach_singapore

Starhub
http://twitter.com/StarhubCares

Singapore Police Force FAcebook page
http://www.facebook.com/singaporepoliceforce

George Yeo (in personal capacity)
http://www.facebook.com/georgeyeo
http://www.beyondsg.typepad.com/ (guest blogger)

Ministry of Health blog
http://mohsingapore.blogspot.com/

Razorfish Employee Social Influence Marketing Guidelines July 2009

2010-03-01T22:41:00.001+08:00

From www.razorfish.com - Razorfish Employee Social Influence Marketing Guidelines, July 2009 [PDF]

Test: Archive.org music player

2008-09-07T17:21:00.003+08:00

Checking out the embedded music player from Archive.org, from this upload. I wonder if the player would automatically reflect the new upload list (i.e. when files are added or removed):

Suggestions from workshop participants

2008-08-04T16:18:00.002+08:00

When asked what they'd like to achieve for their school library:

Use appropriate tools to apply in courses and prgs
Enrich the learning experience for students
using new media as a form of learning and teaching
Use blog to showcase book reviews
Contribute to NLB Read & Reap
Better support the curriculm
increase readership
greater student participation in library activities
create a more vibrant community
Achieve higher level of literacy
Sharing of media resources (share school media content with others)
Increase students interest in books
Using new media to attract students to the library

For this workshop.

Your Library and New Media: Collaboration through Social Networking

2008-08-03T22:35:00.005+08:00

http://tinyurl.com/6qbhak

For the International Conference on Teaching and Learning with Technology (ICTLT), 5-6 Aug 2008.

Pre-conference workshop (4 Aug 2008):

A SELECT LIST OF ONLINE TOOLS

Blogs

Wikis

Video-sharing

Podcasting

Photos

Flickr.com

Powerpoint slides

Slideshare.net

Other Social Networking platforms

Twitter.com
FaceBook
Ovi (Nokia) [see Wikipedia entry]
Delicious.com (social bookmarking) | my example
SharedCopy

Copyright (IPOS)
Copyright Act (Singapore Statues)
Creative Commons (see: Comic | Video)

Creative Commons sources (note: "Creative Commons" does not mean "Copyright-Free"; always check the specific terms of use)

Photos: Flickr.com
Music: ccmixter.org
Google Advanced Search (click on the "+" sign that says "Date, usage rights, numeric range, and more").
MIT open courseware project
Internet Archive

Some considerations in selecting a social sharing service (please add your thoughts as comments)

What are your goals & objectives?
Are you prepared for your works to be used without attribution?
Free or Fee, or both
Ease of Use
Is that service popular? (why do you think this matters?)
Who are the main users of that service?
What's the popular image/ branding of that service?
What's your preferred degree of control of your content? (e.g. private Vs. public access, moderation)

This work by Ivan Chew is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 License. Feel free to use this as per the terms of use. For permissions beyond the scope of this license, or if you wish to clarify what the license mean, please contact via RamblingLibrarian [at] gmail.com.

Workshop 1.3 – New Media – How to set up a school library blog with no budget

2008-05-30T10:41:00.007+08:00

School Library Symposium - 30 May 2008, Jointly organized by NLB & MOE

Workshop 1.3 – New Media – How to set up a school library blog with no budget

By Mr. Ivan Chew, Manager, Adults & Young People’s Services

Aims of the session:

Understand how blogs can be used as publicity tools to engage students and the school community
Through a hands-on exercise, learn how to create and manage a school library blog
Learn how to engage bloggers and users in the blogosphere

YOUR ASSIGNMENT FOR THE NEXT 1.5 HOURS

Create a blog with Blogger.com
Publish at least THREE posts (suggestions: Record the learning points from this workshop. Or interview the person next to you.)
Add your blog here, by leaving a comment
Delete your blog (if you choose to do so)

CREATING A BLOGGER.COM BLOG - ON-SCREEN NOTES: START HERE

REFERENCES

Questions & Comments? Contact me via my blog.

A highly subjective and biased list of social media tools for libraries, librarians, library school coordinators

2008-05-30T09:00:00.001+08:00

Here's a highly subjective and biased list of social media tools for libraries, librarians, library school coordinators :)

Useful stuff for librarians/ libraries

Online image editor: Snipshot.com
Shorten long URLs: TinyURL.com
Maps: earth.google.com | maps.google.com
Instructional: www.instructables.com
Mindmapping tool: cmap.ihmc.us
Open Source audio editing software – audacity.sourceforge.net | Audacity tutorials - audacity.sourceforge.net/help/tutorials
Creative Commons - CreativeCommons.org
ASK! a librarian - www.pl.sg

Blogs, Wikis & other social media platforms

Blogs: Blogger.com | Wordpress.com
Messaging: Twitter.com
Wikis: Wikispaces.com | wetpaint.com
Social bookmarking: del.icio.us
Photosharing: Flickr.com | picasaweb.google.com
Video-sharing: YouTube.com | TeacherTube.com | video.google.com
Cataloguing: www.librarything.com
Powerpoint: Slideshare.net
Audio/ Video depository and resource: www.archive.org
Documents: docs.google.com
Online Annotation: sharedcopy.com | zotero.com
Podcasting: podbean.com | odeo.com

RSS/ Feed Readers/ Alerts

RSS readers: www.google.com/reader | www.bloglines.com
What's RSS? Video from the CommonCraftShow
Alerts: www.google.com/alerts

Search
Blog search: Blogsearch.google.com | Technorati.com
Blog 'Bulletins': Tomorrow.sg | Yesterday.sg

Statistical tools - www.sitemeter.com | www.statcounter.com | www.google.com/analytics

Discussion forums/ mailing lists: groups.yahoo.com | groups.google.com

Updated: Creating blogs with Blogger.com

2008-05-26T22:07:00.006+08:00

DISCLAIMER: I created this post as an aid for the blog courses I conduct. They are not endorsed by Google or Blogger.com.

Click on the images to view additional notes.

Login/ Create Blog

Go to Blogger.com to sign up for an account.

STEP 1: Create a Google account

You need a Google user account in order to create a blog with Blogger.com ('cos Blogger.com is owned by Google).

You don't need to create an account if you already have Google-related accounts like Gmail and Google Groups (read the instructions below the header "Create a Google Account".

Blogger.com requires you to enter an email address (you can always create an additional email account Gmail, Yahoo! or Hotmail).

TIP: Write down all the addresses/ IDs/ passwords that you create along the way. And keep this safe (destroy it once you've committed it to memory). Some participants get confused after signing up for a few things along the way, that they can't log in to their accounts when they try to do after the session)

The Word Verification is a feature for blogger to ensure it's a human being that's creating an account, rather than an automatic program (spambot).

IMPORTANT: Keep your password secret. Google will never, ever ask you for your passwords. If you ever receive any emails asking you for your account ID and passwords, read it very very carefully and you probably should ignore it. Because they are likely to be scam mails.

STEP 2: Name your blog

Here, you're required to enter a Title for your blog and the blog URL (the blog title can easily be changed later, from your Settings Tab. For the URL, it can also be changed provided it's not taken up by someone else. So at this stage, it's best to choose wisely at this stage).

TIP: Use the Check Availability link to confirm that your desired URL is available. Then write the URL for easy reference.

STEP 3: Choose a template

Choose a blog template. You can always change the design later. So don't spend too much time at this stage. There aren't much designs to choose from and you can spend more time customising your blog later.

Confirmation of new blog

Congratulations! You now have a blog.

Create/ Publish Post

This is where you create a new post. It's almost like composing and sending an email.

Dashboard

When you next login to Blogger.com, you'll see your Dashboard. This is where you can create a new blog, and also access your existing blog(s).

Settings tab

Go to the Settings Tab to:

Change the blog name or description
Delete your blog
Change your blog URL
Blog formatting (date/ time settings)
Comment Moderation/ Image Verification/ Email notification
Permissions to view/ post to your blog

Layout tab

The Layout Tab is where you can:

Add "Page Elements" (these are things like a blogroll, counters, HTML codes for stats etc.)
Change your fonts and colours
Edit your blog HTML template directly
Pick a new Blogger.com template

For more tips on using Blogger.com, read this post.

[This is an updated post, from an earlier one, dated Nov 2006]

This work by Ivan Chew is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 License. For permissions beyond the scope of this license , please contact via RamblingLibrarian@gmail.com.

Tips on using BLOGGER.COM

2008-05-23T18:13:00.007+08:00

Some links from Blogger.com's Help pages that I feel all new Blogger.com users ought to know. These tend to the the Frequently Asked Questions from those new to blogger.

More tips, for blogging newbies:

#1 - Write down your User ID, Password, and Blog URL somewhere (keep it safe, until you've committed it to memory).
I've seen many people get all caught up in the excitement of creating a new blog for the first time that they forget their User name, password or the blog URL. They'd lament that they can't find their blog or login etc.

#2- When creating your new blog, just choose a blog design quickly. And move on!
I've personally experienced this myself -- you spend ages choosing and mulling over the blog design template, colours, layout etc. My advice is to just quickly choose a design to get through the process. It's more important to familiarise yourself with how the Dashboard (the admin stuff) works. You can always change the design later.

#3 - Choose a consistent blog name with your URL
For instance, if I want my blog to be called "Rambling Librarian", then my preferred URL is also "RamblingLibrarian.blogspot.com". This is for consistency.

#4 - Blogger.com Vs Blogspot.com
I get this alot: Newbie creates a blogger.com blog. Then says "my blog can't be found". I'd tell them to check the URL. The blog URL should be "blogSPOT.com" and not "blogger.com". Example:

MyFirstBlog.blogger.com is incorrect
MyFirstBlog.blogspot.com is the correct URL

So far, only Blogger.com has this sort of arrangement. If you signup for a Wordpress.com blog, your blog url would be MyFirstBlog.wordpress.com. See what I mean about consistency? :)

[See also: Creating blogs with Blogger.com, 26 May 2008]

This work by Ivan Chew is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 License. For permissions beyond the scope of this license , please contact via RamblingLibrarian@gmail.com.

Example of Flickr Notes: "Making Mooncakes"

2008-03-15T16:13:00.002+08:00

01 Setting Up
Originally uploaded by ramblinglibrarian

I posted this as an example of using the notes feature in Flickr, to make an instructional post more informative.

The photo is also embedded as part of a longer blog post.

Example of Flickr Notes: "Success!"

2008-03-15T16:09:00.002+08:00

Success!
Originally uploaded by fiznatty

Click on the image. When you're at the Flickr page, move your mouse over the image. Check out the notes in this particular image. There's a mix of the informative and funny.

Podcast websites

2008-02-26T16:29:00.003+08:00

These podcasts-related sites were recommended in the July 2005 issue of Mac Addict, p.11:

The Maccast - www.maccast.com

Machelp from Hawaii - radio.weblogs.com/0142820

My Mac Guys - mymacguys.blogspot.com

One Minute Tip - radio.weblogs.com/0141930

Your Mac Life - www.yourmaclifeshow.com

"Introduction To New Media Communications" Course, DAY 2: Selected links for the Podcast/ Vodcast workshop

2007-10-11T23:02:00.002+08:00

[Reference - Course description]

BOOKMARK THIS URL: http://tinyurl.com/pcast123

1) PODCASTING

To produce that Podcast:
Audio (in the appropriate file format)
+ Podcast hosting service
+ RSS feed

To produce that Audio:
Plan >> Script >> Rehearse >> Record >> Edit

Podcast hosting services:
Podbean.com – www.podbean.com
Odeo.com - www.odeo.com (see also: studio.odeo.com)
podOmatic - www.podomatic.com

Audio recording/ editing software:
Open Source audio editing software – audacity.sourceforge.net
Audacity tutorials - audacity.sourceforge.net/help/tutorials
Andacity 1.2. Manual - audacity.sourceforge.net/manual-1.2/tutorials.html

Where to find Creative Commons audio (for background tracks):
Internet Archive – www.archive.org
Creative Commons – creativecommons.org
CCmixter - ccmixter.org
For the workshop: Select tracks from these links if you wish to save yourself time during the hands-on exercise: SeaStars 2007 Album; Ivan Chew's 2006 Discography.

2) VODCASTING

See Vodcast Demo - "Getting to the SMU Executive Media Theatre"

Producing that Vodcast:
Video + Compress video + File hosting service + Blog and/ or RSS feed

How to Vodcast:
playlistmag.com/features/2005/07/howtovodcast/index.php
Vodcasting in a few easy steps (by John Larkin)

Free video hosting services:
YouTube – YouTube.com
Google Video - video.google.com
Internet Archive – www.archive.org
Revver - one.revver.com/revver

Vodcast Demo - "Getting to the SMU Exec Media Theatre"

2007-10-11T19:34:00.000+08:00

This is a demonstration video for the Podcast/ Vodcast workshop -- Civil Service College "Introduction to New Media Communications" course, 11 - 12 Oct 2007.

The podcasting workshop (Day 2) would be held at the Singapore Management University, Executive Media Theatre, Administration Building.

The video was recorded with my digital camera (so the video quality isn't that great).

After I went home, I did a minor edit with the video by cutting out the walk down the passage way. I save the original clip as two files and merged them together in Apple iLife '06 iMovie.

Next, I wrote a brief script and recorded the voice over with the Audacity audio editor and recorder (which I'll be showing the participants how to use). Then saved it as a MP3 file.

The MP3 file was imported to the iMovie clip. Cuts on the audio was done in iMovie.

For the background music, I selected "Saturday In May" (a song I composed in May 2006, when I was learning my way around GarageBand). Adjustments was also made to the track volume in iMovie.

Finally, I added the transitions and titles.

Took about 45 minutes (excluding the recording of the video).

Civil Service College: "Introduction To New Media Communications" Course

2007-10-11T00:05:00.000+08:00

Extracted from the Civil Service College website (last accessed 10 Oct 2007):

"Introduction To New Media Communications" Course

Synopsis: In 2006, TIME magazine voted “You” - producers and consumers of new media content - as its Person of the Year, and gave YouTube its much-coveted “Invention of the Year”. Yes, the age of new media has arrived, even as it evolves into an intricate social web of community and collaboration.

What opportunities do new media offer to organisations seeking to further their communications objectives and target new audiences and stakeholders in this increasingly networked world? And just how does someone new to this fast-evolving landscape take the first steps to participate in its dynamism?

The Civil Service College is pleased to launch a 2-day course that adopts an interactive and hands-on approach to explore key issues related to using new media as a communications tool. Day 1 provides an overview of Singapore’s new media scene, and features industry practitioners and public service agencies that have implemented new media communications initiatives. Day 2 takes a hands-on approach in helping participants understand the culture of new media through the process of creating content for new media platforms such as blogs, YouTube podcasts, and Wikipedia.

Objective: At the end of the course, participants will be able to:
Learn about current culture and trends in new media
Understand key issues on use of new media for communication and information sharing
Find out how other public sector organisations have implemented new media initiatives to engage stakeholders
Create content for new media platforms

Course Outline:

Day One
New media culture & trends: Singapore’s new media scene
Incorporating new media into your communications plan
Case studies:
Old Stories, New Media - The Tale of Yesterday.sg
Using new media in public communication (NLB)
Using new media as an organisational tool for internal communication
Measuring New Media Return on Investment

Day Two - The programme for Day 2 consists of hands-on sessions on the internet.
Creating your first blog
Integrating videos to your blog
Creating podcast/ vodcasts
An introduction to Wikipedia
Closing summary

Trainers/ Facilitators:
Amanda Goh
David Lee
Ivan Chew
Jennifer Chan
Michael Drury
Walter Lim

Time: 9.00am - 5.30pm
Duration: Full Day
Schedule Remarks: Venue will be at SMU.

Link

Additional/ Updated references for "Overview on the "W & H" of Blogging and New Media" - 21 Sept 2007

2007-09-21T02:22:00.001+08:00

This is an updated version of the "Overview on the "W & H" of Blogging and New Media" handout:

Singapore Government Agency Blogs
[Missed out the library@Orchard blog, REACH, and "10,000 Reading Fathers" in the original handout]

Youth.SG (MCYS) - www.youth.sg
Programmes @ 100 Victoria Street (NLB) - dl.nlb.gov.sg/victoria
High Browse Online (NLB) - blogs.nlb.gov.sg/highbrowseonline
Digi.Talk (NLB) - dl.nlb.gov.sg/digitalk
ASK! (NLB) - dl.nlb.gov.sg/ask
library@orchard in Transit - blogs.nlb.gov.sg/orchard
10,000 Reading Fathers - www.10000fathers.sg/blog
Health Promotion Board Podcasts - www.hpb.gov.sg/podcasts
Yesterday.SG (NHB) - yesterday.sg
Youth Advolution for Health (Health Promotion Board) - www.yah.sg
Garden Voices (NParks) - www.nparks.gov.sg/blogs/garden_voices
Young Gardeners (NParks) - www.nparks.gov.sg/blogs/young_gardeners
URA Vodcast - www.ura.gov.sg/podcast/index.html
REACH - app.reach.gov.sg/reach/BlogUs/tabid/54/Default.aspx

What is Web 2.0.?
Read this article.

What is Creative Commons?
Watch the video here.

Introduction to SecondLife

Talk on "Overview on the "W & H" of Blogging and New Media" - 21 Sept 2007

2007-09-13T21:29:00.001+08:00

As published at Civil Service College website:

Programme Category: Public Administration - Communications

Course Title: Talk on "Overview on the "W & H" of Blogging and New Media"

Synopsis: This introductory talk gives us an overview on blogging in the new media landscape. The Internet space has created a global village for spirited and borderless communication, information sharing and learning. The advent of new media has renewed the dynamism of the cybersphere, particularly in the use of blogs.

Join us for this talk and learn how to use blogs and the basics of other new media tools. Understand the impact these new communication channels have created in our social and work environment and also learn where and how to explore their use further. Keep yourself up to date with the latest in communications.

Objective: By the end of the talk, you would be able to:

understand the differences between traditional media and new media, with emphasis on blogging
gain insights into the latest trends in blogging, the use of other new media tools, the reasons why people express themselves using new media and how blogging can be applied in the context of public communications

Course Outline:

Traditional Media vs New Media - impact on the social environment and the public sector

What are the new media tools?

Blogging

How do blogs differ from traditional websites and other online communications tools?
What is blogging and why do people blog?
Basic blogging etiquette
Latest trends in blogging - how blogs are being used by organisations and individuals

Overview of other new media tools:

Podcasting/vodcasting
Online videos
RSS
Wikis
Virtual worlds

Trainers/ Facilitators: Ivan Chew

Schedule Information: 21/09/2007
Time: 2.30pm - 4.30pm
Course Fee: Complimentary
Additional Fee Info: A new initiative by CSC, IPAM to bring new media tools to our public officers.

---------------------------------------
Trainer Details
Ivan Chew has been trained as a professional librarian. Ivan graduated with 1st Class honours from the University of London in Information Systems and Management. Subsequently, he pursued a MSc (Information Studies) from Nanyang Technology University. He is in charge of Adult & Young People's Services in NLB where he manages a team of librarians in delivering services, organizing talks, workshops and outreach programmes to schools, organisations as well as local and overseas community partners. He has been training on Blogging and Podcasting workshops on numerous occasions. Currently he has 6 blogs and 1 podcast. A man of many talents, he can draw, paint as well as play guitar for an amateur band. He also counts blogging, poetry writing and playing piano as his interests. Ivan has also taken a keen interest in Library Services for People with Disabilities.

Source: www.cscollege.gov.sg/page.asp?id=75&course_id=875
Last accessed 12 Sept 2007

NEtwork Conference 2007 (National Education), 14th Aug:

2007-08-13T20:17:00.000+08:00

Resources for a workshop I'm conducting at the NEtwork Conference 2007 (14th Aug)

Blogging And The New Media Phenomenon
Blogging as an NE tool
Ivan Chew, National Library Board
1.30pm to 3.30pm

In today's highly-connected society, almost every man and his dog own a blog. BUT DO BLOGS AND NEW MEDIA HAVE A PLACE FOR NE? Local blogger, Ivan Chew (better known as the "Rambling Librarian") will give an overview of how various New Media platforms, including blogs, can be used for NE. Participants will get an opportunity to formulate and share ideas on integrating new media tools into NE initiatives, as well as discuss ways to manage the challenges in New Media, in the context of NE.

NExus website - www.nexus.gov.sg

What's the NEtwork Conference?
Did you know that National Education (NE) was launched in schools in 1997 by then-Deputy Prime Minister (DPM) Lee Hsien Loong? Since then, many agencies in the government and non-government sectors have supported the NE effort in Singapore with initiatives of their own.

The first NEtwork Conference was organised in 2003 for about 850 NE practitioners, who gathered to take stock of the progress of NE since its launch, as well as look forward to its future directions. Then-DPM Lee Hsien Loong was the guest-of-honour at the event.

Source:
www.mindef.gov.sg/imindef/mindef_websites/topics/nexus/microsite/netwrk_conf/home.html
Last assessed 13 Aug 2007

What NE is, and isn't
The history of National Education
Is National Education just government propaganda?
Is National Education meant to be alarmist?

===============================
Here's an initial list of NE (National Education) related blogs (courtesy of Kelvin Lim from Nexus):

HISTORY

HISTORY - PERSONAL ACCOUNTS

SCHOOL NE BLOGS

ABOUT SINGAPORE

Beyond SG
Eye e City
Memories of Singapore
The Janvision Gallery (photos of Singapore and Malaya 1960 - 1990)
Historical Chinese Architecture in Singapore
Chinese Temple
SingaporeSights
Sin Tua in Singapore (Chinese Shrines)

===============================

IDEAS FOR CONVEYING THE NE MESSAGE (how feasible do you think they will be?)

Book recommendations
Historical reenactments
Films
Songs
Art
Storytelling for NE

What makes bloggers tick?

Know Thy Blogger, Know Thyself (13 Oct, 2005)
From Good Morning Yesterday
Why Do You Blog: A Uses-and-gratifications Inquiry Into Bloggers' Motivations by Dan Li (Aug 2005) - http://lidan.net/research/doc/Li_Dan_Aug_2005.pdf (thanks to Kevin for the heads-up to this article)

Selected "I Am Singaporean" Meme

Words

The Flag - poem
Flying the Singapore Flag
Not Just a Foreigner's War - by Edgar Liao - "Edgar revisits the Battle of Pasir Panjang, touching on the Malay Regiment's role and its implications for us today." (thanks to Kenneth for this)

Maps

Earth@sg - "Singapore's Geo-Mashup Community" (see the section on Heritage and History)
SinGeo.SG

Songwriting as a way to promote NE awareness - see:
songcraft.wordpress.com/2007/08/03/singapore-songwriter

Chinese-language blog by Chung Cheng High School students who are documenting aspects of their school's history for the upcoming exhibition of "Student Life and Activities In Singapore, 1945-1965" - www.19451965.blogspot.com

Oglivy's Executive Blogger’s Guide to Building a Nest of Blogs, Wikis, and RSS - PDF file (hat-tip to PRspeak)

10 tips for a Great Blog - see this earlier post

Starting a new blog (part 1) - A post from 2006, on my personal thinking process in starting a new blog (some aspects are applicable to starting an organisational blog)

YOUTUBE VIDEOS

National Day ("What jokers singapore army boys doing when they are extremely bored")
Army Daze - 1/9 ("Singapore-made 1996 comedy movie. About 5 recruits under-going Basic Military Training")
Every Singaporean Son (SAF National Service Video)
Singapore Army TV Commercial - "Breaking New Ground"
Knock It Down - Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) - ("Knock it down" - A military slang for pushups. This video clearly depicts the course of army. And I was a PTI, so i know how it went. Enjoy guys!")
41st SAR POP Parade ("on 15March 2006..OncE ArmouR Always Armour !! Singapore Armed Forces Rulez!")
Ghost that scared the sh*t out of Singapore Soldiers!
SAF FIBUA Demo
Tribute to the United States Marine Corps
United States Marine Corps
US Army Drill Team
British Army

Talking points:

What sort of reactions would be get from different audiences?
Would we allow similar videos to be made?
Would the "Permission-Granted If You Abide By..." concept be better than a "Permission-Denied By Default" rule?
What are the potential "Can Of Worms" that would be opened up?

Selected tools

Odeo.com (Audio)
Internet Archive (Video/ Audio/ Text library)
YouTube (Video)
TeacherTube (Video)
SlideShare (Powerpoint)

Flickr (Photos/ Images)

Del.icio.us (Web Bookmarks)
Blogger (Blog)
Wordpress (Blog)
Wikispaces
Technorati (Blog Search tool)

One good use of a helmet cam

2007-07-26T20:55:00.001+08:00

Well the Helmet-cam didn't prevent the accident from happening. But it helped in reviewing the event.

Via Kevin.

Links for MOE ExCEL FEST 2007, 13 July 2007

2007-07-12T16:39:00.000+08:00

Links for the MOE ExCEL FEST 2007. The resources listed here are highly selective and far from exhaustive. I'm focusing on what I think would be those that are immediately applicable, popular and most practical for a school teacher in Singapore. If you've more to add, you're most welcome to leave a comment.

Services/ Tools

Flickr (Photos/ Images)

Pi-unrolled

"Pi" latest version & permanent link
Citing specific versions

Technorati (Blog Search tool)
Google Blog Search

Online Safety

Think Before You Post (Everybody knows your name) (YouTube video 1:00 min)
Think Before You Post (Online photos) (YouTube video 1:00 min)
Think Before Posting Your Info Online. CBSnews.com, 10 May 2006

Education-related blogs/ School blogs/ Educators' blogs

Peihua Secondary School Jalan Kayu Trail blog; see also:

We're on Yesterday.sg

The General Paper; See also:

General Paper (Millennia Institute)

COM125 Study Guide
Innova JC New Media Arts

"Innova JC UK Humanities Study Trip" (YouTube video 3:35 mins)

SecondLife @ Victoria Junior College
Republic Polytechnic Official Weblog
Special Education Teacher in Washington DC
From the trenches of Public Ed.
USFblogtastic (Group blog for students and prof in Digital Journalism)
Dangerously Irrelevant (on technology, education and future of US schools)

Intellectual Property Office of Singapore
Creative Commons; see this video also.
Archive.org (just one source of open-source; "Some Rights Reserved" content)

NLB Blogs

High Browse Online (book blog)
ASK! (Questions and Answers)
Digi.Talk (Digital Resources)
Programmes@100 Victoria (National Library programmes)

Useful stuff to explore

"NTU Lecturer Feedback Damn Funny" (YouTune video 8:25 mins; skip to 1:40 mins); see also "Youtube Campus Superstar", Digital Nanyang Chronicle)
Citizen Journalism Boot Camp (YouTube video 3:04 mins)
MOE Press Release: 1st National Interschool Blogging Championship, 20 May 2005
Instructables.com
Snipshot.com
Wikispaces (Wiki); see also:

Tomorrow.sg (Moderated bulletin of Singapore bloggers)
Ping.sg (Unmoderated listings of Singapore bloggers)
Yesterday.sg (Heritage Blog, supported by NHB)
Youth.sg (Lifestyle blog for youths, supported by MCYS)

"RSS in Plain English" from The Common Craft Show

2007-05-15T00:19:00.000+08:00

Thanks to Library Stuff which pointed me to this video on "RSS in Plain English" by the folks at The Common Craft Show:

Click To Play

There are two types of Internet users, those that use RSS and those that don't. This video is for the people who could save time using RSS, but don't know where to start.

RSI interview: Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr George Yeo

2007-03-03T21:18:00.000+08:00

Minister George Yeo (who guest-blogs at Beyond.SG and at Ephraim's) explains what led him to try out blogging -- read this interview transcript from the Radio Singapore International webpage:

You’ve recently said that you had to learn new tricks. What were some of these new tricks you had to learn?

Language is different. There is a certain casual informality about blogs, which makes it easy to read and makes it acceptable in the medium. If you’re too stuffy or officious, I think it’s a turnoff...

...If you’re too professional, then people get bored, they feel that it’s not appropriate. Sometimes it’s better for the pictures to be a little grainy, they look informal, more sincere more spontaneous.

There is a voyeur side to everybody; if it’s a picture that’s perfect then it’s intended for me to look at, but if it’s grainy it’s almost as if I’m peering over somebody’s shoulder and overhearing a conversation, which is a different experience.

So these are aspects of communication which I’m understanding a bit better now.

See also: Mr. George Yeo's reflections on his BlogTV.sg interview (Jan '07).

Web 2.0. - Digital Ethography

2007-02-13T01:31:00.001+08:00

This video explains in 5 minutes, among other things, the context by which "social media" and related technologies (like blogs) exist. Brilliant.

By Assistant Professor of Cultural Anthropology, Michael Wesch, from Kansas State University.

Blog learning resource: 10 tips for a great blog

2006-11-12T17:39:00.001+08:00

Here's a very nice and concise presentation (PDF) on how to blog well:
10 Ways to a Killer Blog - Getting noticed in the new word-of-mouth network
by Robert and Maryam Scoble, PodTech.net

I also recommend that you read this book for more detailed explanation of the concepts covered in the above presentation:

Publisher: Wiley
ISBN: 047174719X

Creating blogs with Blogger.com

2006-11-04T16:38:00.002+08:00

[First posted at RamblingLibrarian]
UPDATE - See New Blogger Features (Dec 2006) + updated post (26 May 2008).

Due to repeated requests for the screenshots in creating blogs with Blogger.com, I've gotten over my procrastination and posted them in the blog. Yeah, I should've done it earlier... well, better late than never. The steps and screens are correct as of 1st Nov 2006 (once Blogger.com cuts over to the new Blogger Beta version, the features and interface might have changed).

Click on the images for the larger-sized screen-shots:

Step 1 - Blogger - Login/ Create Blog

This is where you you create a blog, or login to your Blogger account - Blogger.com (additional notes in Flickr.com - click here)

Blogger - Step 1 in Creating An Account

You are required to choose a User Name for your blogger account. Blogger uses Image Verification rather than Email Verification in accepting accounts. The email you enter is for things like "password reminder" rather than for creating an account with Blogger. If your preferred User Name has been taken, you'd be required to enter an alternative. Your User Name does not necessarily have to be your Blog Name or Display Name (i.e. you may wish to choose something totally unrelated to your blog name for additional security).

Blogger - Step 2: Name your blog

Here, you're required to enter a Title for your blog and the blog URL (these can be changed later; for the URL it will be subject to availability, so it's best to choose wisely at this stage). The Word Verification is a feature for blogger to ensure it's a human being that's creating an account, rather than an automatic program (spambot).

Blogger - Step 3: Choose a template

Click on any of the design. Tip -- you can always choose a new template, so simply choose anyone to proceed and complete your registration/ blog creation process. My observation is that most "Blogger newbies" spend way too much time at this stage, and adds unnecessary delay in registering the blog.

Blogger - After Step 3

You're almost there...

Blogger - Confirmation of new blog

Congratulations! You now have a blog. But you if you try to visit your blog URL, you'll get a 404 Page Not Found message. Don't worry -- you see your blog once you publish at least one post. Which is why blogger will bring you directly to...

Blogger - Create/ Publish Post

This is where you create a new post. It's almost like composing and sending an email. More explanatory notes are at the Flickr.com image - click here)

Technorati Tags: blogger, blog tutorial

Links & References for LAS Blog course, Jul/ Aug 2006 (Part 2)

2006-07-22T14:47:00.001+08:00

[This post continues from Part 1. It will be updated up till the 2nd run of the LAS blog course on 4th Aug '06]

Selected introductory readings:

Soliciting for ideas on how the Library can reach out to people who find it physically inconvenient to get to the library (via High Browse Online)
Ebay will use tagging to help it get organized (via Library Journal Blog - LJ Tech Blog)
The Power of Blogs - (Another LJ blog article, with a few related topics in the post. As you read the post, reflect upon the tone and writing style of the post, i.e. similarities/ differences to the print version of Library Journal. Of particular interest is the post's mention about cashless payment in libraries, i.e. did you find that useful? Would something like that be published in the typical print journal?)
Portrait of a Blogger: Under 30 and Sociable - WashingtonPost.com article commenting on a survey by the Pew Internet & American Life Project: "More than half of bloggers are younger than 30, and a majority use their blogs as a mode of creative expression, the survey found. Money-making possibilities motivate only 15 percent of bloggers, and most blog on a variety of topics, with 11 percent focusing on politics."
Technorati.com screencast - Quicktime Movie on the newly unveiled (Jul 2006) Technorati website. Includes an overview of the features and services.
Laptops give hope to homeless (Wired News) - How blogs are used by the homeless to reach out and express themselves (via Blogger Buzz)

Selected Library Associations with blogs:

Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) Blog [note: The funny thing is that they don't seem to have RSS feed, no permalinks, no comment feature... more of a website if you ask me]
School Library Association UK
Special Library Association - Sub Sahara Africa Chapter
Cincinnati Law Library Blog
Public Library Association (US) blog
List of predominently US-centric library associations' blogs - via BlogWithoutALibrary Wiki
~~[This space is reserved for Library Association of Singapore]~~ Singapore Libraries Bulletin Blog (Library Association of Singapore)

Singapore Library Blogs (for public access)

High Browse Online (book blog, Public Library Services)
ASK! (Advisory & Enquiry blog, Public Library Services)
Programmes @ 100 Victoria (Programmes blog, National Library)
Digi.Talk (e-resources blog from Digital Library Services, NLB)
Readers' Choice (book blog, Ngee Ann Polytechnic Library)
~~[This space is reserved for Library Association of Singapore]~~ Singapore Libraries Bulletin Blog (Library Association of Singapore)

Librarianship-related collaborative blogs (initiated in Singapore)

Singapore Librarians for Empowerment & Advocacy for the Disabled - sgLEAD
Asian Libraries - (a collaborative blog for practising librarians from Asia)

Flickr.com Demonstration

2006-07-19T15:29:00.001+08:00

This was taken when the participants went for their teabreak:

Links & References for LAS Blog course, Jul/ Aug 2006

2006-07-18T22:22:00.001+08:00

References for blog course for LAS: "Blogs, Tagging, RSS, Podcasts: Heresay, Hype, and Hogwash?" Jul/ Aug, 2006.

[NOTE: Part 2 continues here]

On blogs and stuff
- 10 points on Blogs & RSS
- Starting a new blog
- Using Bloglines (via Preetam)
- Using Flickr (via Preetam)
- Using Technorati Tags (via Preetam)
- Using PubSub (via Preetam)

Who's Blogging? (just a sample, mind you)
- Cherian George's Air-conditioned Nation
- Cherian George's Singapore: New Media, Politics & the Law
- Lawrence Lessig (Founder & Chairman of Creative Commons)
- Lam Chun See's Good Morning Yesterday (probably Singapore's oldest blogger!)
- Tan Tarn How (policy researcher with IPS)
- Matt Cutts (google employee)
* Librarians (see Liblogarians links in next section)

Selected links to blogs/ sites with feeds
- Audio feeds
- ASK! Blog (NLB's public library services Advisory & Enquiry weblog)
- Authors/ Publishers Blog
- AustralianBlogs + Australian Podcasts + News2.0
- BookBlogs
- Blog Timeline.SG ("A timeline of significant events in the Singapore blogosphere")
- Education
- Internet Archive
- Instructables
- Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD Blog)
- LibrariesInteract ("Blog central for libraries in Australia")
- Liblogarians - Singapore
- Liblogarians - USA
- Liblogarians - UK
- Liblogarians - Australia
- Law Blogs
- Library - HKUL
- Library - NYPL
- Library - NLB
- Library News/ Research
- Singapore Heritage feeds
- Tomorrow.sg
- Yesterday.sg
- Yahoo! Search Blog
(To view all my Bloglines Subscriptions, click here)

EXERCISES:
1) Inserting images for blog posts
Here are sample HTML codes. Copy and paste the codes to your blog post and see how they turn out (remember to replace the "*" portions with "<" and ">" respectively):

*a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ramblinglibrarian/153598467" title="Photo Sharing"**img src="http://static.flickr.com/55/153598467_8fbb8d369c.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="Singapore Short Stories"**/a*

*a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ramblinglibrarian/138240722/" **img src="http://static.flickr.com/53/138240722_375dcffdb4_m.jpg" width="240" height="222" alt="Macro_Orchid 0406"**/a*

*a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ramblinglibrarian/131272959/"**img src="http://static.flickr.com/50/131272959_a5ab2f3210.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="Mushroom 190406"**/a*

*a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ramblinglibrarian/131915800/"**img src="http://static.flickr.com/56/131915800_be07f06f81.jpg" width="500" height="374" alt="Oven Fresh Cookies - Macro"**/a*

*a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ramblinglibrarian/138240721/"**img src="http://static.flickr.com/52/138240721_eaaf32f7ba.jpg" width="355" height="500" alt="Macro_Gloxinia"**/a*

2) Group Activity - writing blog posts
- Try writing a blog post individually.
- Next try working together in groups of 2 or 3
- Consider a theme/ topic

Course for Library Association of Singapore: An introduction to Blogs and related technologies, and its applications in Libraries

2006-07-18T12:08:00.001+08:00

As posted at the Library Association of Singapore calendar page:

Title:
Blogs, Tagging, RSS, Podcasts: Heresay, Hype, and Hogwash?
An introduction to Blogs and related technologies, and its applications in libraries

Conducted by : Mr Ivan Chew
Ivan holds a BSc (Econs) & a MSc. (Information Studies). His current job is to develop and manage the Adults & Young People's (AYP) services, working with a team of AYP librarians to look into collection, programmes and services in the public libraries. At last count, he has five blogs.

Date/Time:
19 Jul 06, 2pm - 5pm (update: Additional run scheduled for 4 Aug 06)

Venue:
NLB Academy
Carnegie Room
Toa Payoh Community Library
Level 3, 6 Toa Payoh Central
Singapore 319191

Course Fees:
LAS Member: $50.00
Non-LAS Members : $60.00

Class size : 10 (min) - 24 (max)

Closing date : 12 Jul 2006

Outline of course:

1. "Blogs" in the Singapore context
2. Define & understand "blogging" terminologies
3. Examples of blogs in education and libraries
4. How does one create a blog? (Hands-on)
5. Introduction to blog-related resources for content creation and searching (RSS, flickr.com, podcasting, tagging/ folksonomy/ technorati.com, blog search engines etc)
6. Discussion of possible applications, legal and ethical issues in the context of libraries

You will have a hands-on experience on blogging.

How you will benefit

After attending the course, the participants will:
- have an overview of blogging
- understand more about RSS, podcasting
- learn how to use these new technologies to better serve your library users

Target Audience

All information services professionals with backgrounds in libraries

Source: las.org.sg/calendar.htm#BLOGS (last accessed 18 Jul 06)

MICA Innovation Fiesta 2006 - Basics of Podcasting Workshop

2006-07-17T23:13:00.001+08:00

UPDATE - 18 Jul 06. Here's a podcast from one of the participant from the course: Mr. Philip Lim shares a story on a Customer Service encounter:

powered by ODEO

Links featured in the course:
1) Definition of Podcasting
- Ask A Ninja: Special Delivery 1 "What is Podcasting?"
- Definition from Wikipedia
- Definition from EatFeed.com
- TODAYonline ("What's all the podding fuss about?")

2) Selected podcasts
- Mr. Brown Show
- EatFeed.com
- BBC Radio (Step by Step guide to getting a podcast)
- Daily Breakfast with Fr. Roderick
- Health Promotion Board, Singapore
- Penguin Podcast
- Kevin Lim (on Flu wiki)

3) Other sites & links
- Planning your podcast recording session (Apple iLife GarageBand tutorial)
- Audacity (Open source audio-recording/ editing software)
- Studio.odeo.com (free podcasting hosting)
- Archive.Org (hosting of audio files, but no dedicated feed for the file)
- RamblingLibrarian podcast

**************************
[Original post]
I've been roped in to plan and conduct a podcasting workshop for the MICA Innovation Fiesta 2006.

See, Do, Hear: Knowing the Basics of PodCasting
18 July 2006
2.30pm – 5.00pm
Possibility Room, Level 5
National Library Board
100 Victoria Street
Singapore 188064

Listen to the spoken Introduction:

powered by ODEO

The Script:

Hello.
Welcome to the MICA Innovation Fiesta 2006 workshop titled "See, Do, Hear: Knowing the Basics of Podcasting".

You are now listening to a podcast. What better way to start a podcasting workshop by using a podcast, right?

My name is Ivan Chew. I'm with the National Library Board Singapore (NLB). In my 10 years with NLB, I've been assigned various roles: I've worked as a librarian at a community library; I've been involved in digital & web-based projects. I've managed a few libraries & was part of a team in upgrading one. Now I work with a team of librarians delivering Adult & Young Peoples' Services across our network of public libraries.

But what makes me qualified to conduct this workshop on podcasting? Well, in my personal capacity I have five blogs and one podcast (feed). I am not an expert on podcasting but rest assured I have enough to share for an introductory workshop. Besides, one point we're making here is that you don't have to be an "expert" to produce a podcast.

By the end of our three hour session, you'll be able to do or understand at least three things: One, explain to others what are podcasts. Two, know how to listen to podcasts. And three, understand how they are produced & the ways in which they can be delivered.

We will also discuss possible applications of podcasts. During the workshop we will be listening to a few selected ones. Basically, you'll see podcasting from both the consumer's and the producer's perspective.

Now here's the fun part -- we have a group activity to produce (or attempt to produce) a podcast episode. It sounds challenging but anyway, this IS the Innovation Fiesta afterall.

So let's innovate. Let's play!

Tag: podcasting

Intro to Blogs workshop, by Kevin Lim (Feb 06)

2006-07-12T14:47:00.001+08:00

Kevin (theory.isthereason.com) posts his workshop content, including links to his presentation slides and PDF handouts. Summary of the outline posted in his blog:
- INTRODUCTION
- EXAMPLES OF SCHOLARLY BLOGS
- THE SOFT-SIDE OF BLOGGING
- THE HARD-SIDE OF BLOGGING
- WHAT IS RSS AND HOW TO SUBSCRIBE TO THEM?
- SIGNING UP WITH BLOGGER.COM
- GETTING STARTED WITH BLOGGING
- RELATED REFERENCES

Read his full post here.

Technorati Tags: Blog Workshop, Blog Course

SAOUG Blog Course Practice: "Would South African Librarians embrace blogging?"

2006-02-15T16:29:00.001+08:00

Question: Would South African Librarians embrace blogging? What is the level of readiness?

Comments & responses please.

Schedule: SAOUG - Blogging 101 for Dummies workshop (13 Feb - 17 Feb 2006)

2006-02-11T17:22:00.001+08:00

South African Online User Group "Blogging 101 for Dummies workshop":

Participants will learn what a blog is, learn how to create blogs, name their blogs, how to post comments, change the template of the blog, and how to delete their blog (in fact everything you wish to know about blogs). It will be a practical hands-on workshop.

-----------------------------------------------------------
SCHEDULE (Mon, 13 Feb - Fri 17, Feb 2006)
-----------------------------------------------------------
Monday, 13 Feb
Venue Medical Library, University of Pretoria
Session 1: 8:00-12:00
Session 2: 13:00-17:00

Tuesday, 14 Feb
Venue Dynamix Training Centre, Witkoppen Road, Sunninghill
Session 1: 8:00-12:00
Session 2: 13:00-17:00

Wednesday, 15 Feb
Venue Dynamix Training Centre, Witkoppen Road, Sunninghill
Session 1: 8:00-12:00
Session 2: 13:00-17:00

Thursday, 16 Feb
Venue University of Johannesburg, Kingsway Campus
Session 1: 9:00-13:00
[Depart in afternoon from Johannesburg International to Cape Town for session in Cape Town, then back to Johannesburg the next day]

Time 3:55 PM - Depart JNB for CPT on British Airways.
Arrive 6:05 PM

Friday, 17 Feb
Venue University of Stellenbosch
Session 1: 9:00-13:00
[Depart in evening from Cape Town for Johannesburg]
Time 6:45 PM - Depart CPT for JNB on British Airways
Arrive 8:55 PM

Saturday, 18 Feb

Depart for Singapore.

Related post - Blogging in South Africa (SAOUG Blog Course, Part 1)

Tag: SAOUG

What is RSS? (illustrated)

2006-02-10T00:31:00.001+08:00

I thought this illustrates the point rather well. From Kevin:

[Click image to see larger picture]

Example of using blogs to share a more "human side" of ourselves to colleagues

2006-01-08T21:47:00.001+08:00

This was an early post of mine, about my dog. In blogging something as personal and mundane as the name of my dog, I was trying to show how blogging could be used as a tool for social networking and expanding the readers' learning capacity (by introducing them to books in the library collection). Effectively, what I did was to link keywords in my blog post to catalogue entries in the library OPAC.

I also discovered that people who googled for "schnauzer" also visited my blog. From the comments (like this one), my colleagues and I were able to share and discuss something that we normally wouldn't have an opportunity to talk about in a work-setting:

Max, the Mini Schnauzer: Blogs as tools for Social Networking and Expanding Learning Capacity
While thinking of a name for our dog, my wife and I surprisingly came up with the same name, but for different reasons. I was thinking of Maximus, the Gladiator [NLBLink 7821448/ NLBLink 10127342] played by Russell Crowe. My wife too, came up with the name, Max. But she was really thinking about main character in the cartoon series "The Transformers" [NLBLink 11795414], Optimus Prime, except that she mistakenly thought the heroic robot was called "Maximus Prime".

Click on this Technorati Tag (Schnauzer) to read similar posts "tagged" by other bloggers (think of "tags" as Subject Headings to link related posts).

Example of using blogs to express opinions that otherwise might not be heard

2006-01-08T02:42:00.001+08:00

[I'm using personal examples as I blog about them. If you discover similar ones, feel free to leave them as comments]

In this example, I came across two articles where I felt was grossly inaccurate. While the originating site allowed feedback to be submitted, I wasn't sure if they would publish my comments so my blog allowed me to post my views and share with others. You can also see from the post how others post their reactions in my blog, thus giving a more balanced picture to the original post.

I also deliberately chose to use the same article title for my blog post, so that when someone googles it, my blog post might be picked up with the originating articles:

Brave New Singapore?
Learnt from Loy's blog (From a Singapore Angle, 7 Jan 06) about a two-part series commenting on "the lack of liberty in Singapore" ...

Personally, I think expressing one's opinions & reactions in one's own blog is a more mature position to take, as opposed to flaming someone in their articles or posts. :)

Example of information sharing & exchange: Bad experience with fridge

2006-01-04T00:26:00.001+08:00

Here's a personal example of how consumers can use blogs to voice their frustration/ opinions over certain products or services:

Ariston Fridges
So I'm frustrated from the entire chain of events. Could Ariston have prevented it? I don't know. Maybe a better hinge design. Maybe some Ariston employee will do a Google or Technorati and find my blog piece. Maybe they will do something about the design.

But they sure won't hear it from me direct via their formal feedback channel (if any). Why should I when I'm not going to try my luck with another Ariston fridge again, no matter how good it looks.

This was a real example that happened to me and my wife -- our fridge went kaput and we had a series of negative experiences as a result. I decided to blog about it because the frustration was very real.

How would blogging about it help?
Well the fridge didn't recover by itself. I doubt if Ariston will replace my fridge for free just because I blogged about it. But it sure helped me ease some sense of frustration, and I'm certainly sharing information to people who care to read it. Sure it's full of bias and presents only my side of the story. But that's what "word of mouth" is about, isn't it?

If Ariston had employees who know how to seek out blogs that mention it's products and services, then they might be able to do something about it. They might even want to contact me to try and convert me back to a customer.

And consider this -- if you, the consumer, was considering buying a fridge, would you consider buying the same model that I had? What thoughts went through you as you read the post?

Example of information sharing & exchange: Pair of monkeys

2006-01-02T22:12:00.001+08:00

Here's one personal example of using blogs and online tools like Flickr.com for information exchange and sharing among individuals:

Pair of monkeys spotted at Yishun Park
My wife and I visited Yishun Park today and we spotted a pair of wild monkeys in a tree. I happened to have my digital camera along and snapped a few pictures...

[click on image to see more]

How's this useful?

For one, I don't have to email the pictures to my friend that I had in mind. He subscribes to my blog (though I dropped him an email just in case).

He might pass the word around to other people in nature groups, and they could add comments to my blog post (it might turn out to be 'public education' of sorts)

If we wanted to, we could use tools like

Technorati Tags

Books on blogging

2005-09-01T21:36:00.002+08:00

Here's a link to a list of blogging-related books available from the NLB. If anyone wishes to recommend additional books or resources, feel free to post a comment here.

Sept 1 session (afternoon): Main discussion points

2005-09-01T21:08:00.001+08:00

We modified our approach a little bit for the afternoon session, based on a quick review of this morning's session before we went for lunch.

For the afternoon session, we did pretty much the same except that we conducted the demo a little slower (for the hands-on blogging part).

Some participants tended to get a little mixed up over the "User Name" (when they register for blogger), the "Blog Name" for the blogspot site, as well as the "Blog Address". Not surprising, since many of them had no experience in creating their own homepages.

But Rajen and I felt that for a group that had no experience in creating personal homepages, they did very well. Everyone today (morning & afternoon's session) was able to create a blog of their own, create posts, change the template, add comments, post comments in other people's blog, delete comments and also deleting a blog.

This is a snapshot of the discussion points raised for the afternoon session:

We took these down before the start of the session. We asked what came to the participant's minds when they hear about "blogs". We had responses like "it's a website", "it's similar to email", "it's a web diary", "it's put up by people with lots of info to share", "it's a teenager thing", "it's controversial".

At the end of the session, we asked them to review those same points noted earlier. One thing all agreed that it wasn't just a "teenage thing" and blogs aren't necessarily controversial.

Someone asked "do people or authorities monitor blogs". I took that question and said I don't really know. Basically, to blog is to publish. So do it responsibly.

As with the morning session, the participants were also interested in legal issues regarding blogs. The point Rajen & I tried to make was that existing laws applies -- you'd get into trouble if you make inaccurate or inappropriate statements.

We had a point noted down -- "Any use of blogs about work?" (whatever "work" might be). We discussed about corporate blogging. Mentioned about IBM blogging guidelines, and shared the example of Microsoft's Channel 9.

And just like the morning session, we showed them Bloglines as an example of a RSS newsreader.

Judging from the participants' responses & written feedback, the course seemed to have met the stated course objectives.

Sept 1 session (morning): Main discussion points

2005-09-01T12:44:00.001+08:00

Ok, we had our first session this morning at 10am to 12.30pm.

Rajen (L) & Ivan (R)

We asked participants what were their perceptions of blogs at the start of the session. Some mentioned "Personal Diary", "Personal homepages/ websites", "Daily Journals", "Online Hyde Park", "Brag Site". [Perhaps participants can comment here to see if their perceptions have changed after the session. Rajen & I reviewed our morning session and felt we could have shared more examples of educational & academic blogs].

Participants learnt how to create blogs, name their blogs, how to post comments, change the template of the blog, and how to delete their blog (we used Blogger.com).

Someone asked what's the difference between blogs and Discussion Forums/ Chat Rooms/ Community Groups. Unfortunately we didn't have time to address that question.

Most seemed keen to find out more about legal issues & copyright w.r.t. blogging. The session also covered how to search for blogs using tools like Technorati.com

From the feedback forms, we think the session went quite well. Of course like all things, there are always lot of room for improvement.

To participants who manage to find their way to this demo site, please feel free to share your feedback and comments.

Checklist for 1 Sept course

2005-08-27T13:15:00.000+08:00

We've confirmed the course package (for purposes of copyright, we can't show them here). The training is confirmed on 1st Sept 2005.

Last we heard, both sessions are fully registered. 45 people signed up, so let's see if all turn up that day.

Checklist:

Do a reece of the training venue
Rehearsal
Powerpoint slides (what would we do without Powerpoint?)
Printouts of the courseware
Participants' namelist

We're about set, Rajen.

What the demo will cover

2005-08-03T01:11:00.000+08:00

We have about an hour for the hands-on portion for the course. We'll be showing them how to create a blog using Blogger -- to show them something else while we are using Blogger here just doesn't seem quite right, does it? :)

Step 1: Creating an account
Step 2: Choosing a name
Step 3: Choosing a template

That's it. Then we'll go around the classroom to help the participants.

How's that?

I think most might be stuck with choosing a name for the blog.

Course objectives - Blogging course: MICA Innovation Fiesta 2005

2005-08-02T12:30:00.000+08:00

[For reasons of copyright, we're unable to show the full content of the course]

Ok, we want to define the course objectives here.

Define, understand the types and uses of blogs
Know basic terminologies associated with blogs
Create your own blog
Make an informed choice on blogs and blogging

Anything else to add here?

Finally, a name!

2005-08-01T00:36:00.000+08:00

Hello World.

Our names are Rajendra Munoo and Ivan Chew. We started this blog as a demonstration tool for the Blogging Course that we have been asked to conduct for the MICA Innovation Fiesta 2005:

"Blogging: New Tool of the E-Generation".
Date: 1 Sept 2005
Time: 10am - 12.30pm (Session #1)/ 2.30pm - 5pm (Session #2)
Venue: NLB Academy (Toa Payoh Community Library)

Rajen has a blog at ExpatLibrarian. I'm sometimes known in the Blogosphere as the RamblingLibrarian.

~~We're conducting this particular course for the first time. We'll see how it goes~~
We've got very good feedback from our first run (both sessions). Certainly the participants understood more about blogs, what is it (and isn't). We'll be updating this blog from time to time, depending on future sessions.