A Relationship with Word Press/ Assignment #2, MLIS 7505

Coming to the end of a long week that began with a group meeting. At the time my group was all Valdosta based so we meet with our laptops and played with WP. We created our own blog not knowing that we were suppose to use the one that Dr. Oguz set up for us. But that was ok, because we were using the same platform, so it was good practice. By Monday we were up and running, experimenting with the right one! Word Press is one of the most popular blogging platforms, so I think this exercise experimenting with it to be invaluable. I feel more confident in trying to use WP in the future. For the inexperienced person, like myself, you just have to jump in and get your feet wet, through mistakes and questions comes learning. My team is probably tired of hearing from me, and I applaud their patience with answering my questions.
Group 1 continued to experiment, we had two more group meetings which were a tremendous help to me. Dr.Oguz added another team member mid week and we tried to bring her up to date on our progress. I ran into difficulties on Tuesday with the site. When I brought it up on my computer, I could not get into the administration to make changes or play. I could not find the dashboard in my browser history and I experienced this on both by big laptop and my mini.So, I wasnt sure what happened, but something did! Celia provided me with the URL for the dashboard and this was the only way to enter. She had to add the admin back from hers and I was set to go again!
We initially set up a couple of categories, and then everyone was to play with the themes, tags, categories,plugins etc. We created our onw bios. I added a page and heading on therapy dogs in the library with a URL to Therapy Dogs International and uploaded a couple of pictures. My first attempt did not work and my team came to the rescue with directions again but it was exactly what I had been doing (at least I knew I was on the right track!) My third attempt was successful.
I also changed the time, changed the theme, tagged, categoritized and added the Askimet plugin. I am slow, so it would have been fun to have had more time to explore and experiment, but I felt it was a good first attempt!
I enjoyed monitoring the successes and frustrations of other teams. We all seemed to be struggling with the same issues, which made me feel better! I believe Team 7 had the winner theme! It was a little scary but certainly got your attention. I would have liked to have experimented more with the themes, but I am a little hestitant that I might mess the site as we are running out of time! I am a visual being and I like splash!
I checked out other websites that have been made through WP and I was amazed; the Wall Street Journal, celebraties, universities, along list of beautiful sites. I wonder what depth of knowledge it takes to create one of these and how long it would take?!
In conclusion and considering the usual group constraints of scheduling, and the time constaits of the class,I feel the project was successful. Team 1 helped each other, we brainstormed and learned about WP together. Those who knew more, helped the ones that didnt (me!)to understand how to make WP work so I could apply it to the our site.

Round and round we Go

I feel like a rat on a wheel, and I'm getting dizzy.

GUGM

Yesterday I atended the afternoon GUGM online conference at Odum. That would be the Gil Users Group Meeting that was held in Wimba, but they had big screens up for viewing. I listened to the talk on from three people at Georgia Tech on their system. Most of it was over my head but thanks to this class I recognized a few things! Them I listened to Debra Davis and Mike Holt present the developement of Archon which was enlightening, like why they chose Archon and how it works.

Human or Dog?

A wiki is a great example of Library 2.0. One of the things that stood out to me in the reading was Web 2.0 and Library 2.0 is about being human and connecting and seeing what happens from there. That is why Sir Raleigh has become a catalyst in connecting the humanism and the technological, reaching out to library users and engaging them into the library with a loving cuddly teddy-dog.

An On Going Story of Tails and Wikis

Sir Raleigh and I have developed a scanario to let you know more about the wiki we have chosen for our library which is the Lee County Public Library system in Ft Myers,FL.Raleigh loves running the beach at dog park at Estero. It is rather lengthy and I apologize but I felt it was needed. Raleigh is use to that part...one of the reasons he is such a great listener. Good qualifications for his therapy work in the library. I also cited from Wikipedia, which I thought appropriate in this context, and their source was the US Census! Hope nobody messed with it. Since this is a blog and kind of casual, no APA!

Finding a Wiki and a Job for Raleigh

1. The library that I have chosen to develop a wiki for is in actuality a library that I would like to work for, the Lee County Public Libraries in Ft Myers, Florida. First, a look at the demographics of Lee County. According to Wikipedia, as of 2005 the population was approximately 589,000 of which approximately seventy seven percent were Caucasian, fifteen percent Latino, eight percent Afro-American, and one percent Asian. Eighty percent ranged in age from 45 to 64, twenty two percent were over 64. Twenty two percent had children under age 18. This reflects a large professional group, and an equal division of children still living at home and seniors.
2. The Lee County Library system is made up of twelve branches, one which is devoted solely to audio collections. The combined libraries offer 340 public computers, 21 self checkouts, 5 download stations and a PC reservation and print management system. They have one book mobile. Their budget for the years 2007 to 2008 was approaching $28,000,000. They offer a wealth of programs to meet the needs of the community. I have been monitoring their website for the past year, and it has been recently revised. It is a fine example of showing the depth of the programs they offer, is visually appealing, and easy to move around in. They have now added a Download Depot to access books, music, videos, for Macs and OMC on the go. One can access from Ipods, android phones, and Blackberry Windows Mobile. LCPL appears to be embracing Library 2.0, and they look for marketing venues that are unique. Well....

continued Wiki......

3. This library has a large community presence and is not afraid to be on the cutting edge of marketing to their community. They have asked me to select a wiki that would be easy to get up and running and would be compatible with the quality of their website (http://www.library.lee-county.com ). They would like to introduce to the community a special therapy dog, Sir Walter Raleigh, who would be used in their children’s literacy program. Sir Raleigh, the gentle teddy bear standard poodle will visit the library on a regular basis and the children will read to him. Because Sir Raleigh has such great skills, he will also be used with the book mobile to deliver books with a warm loving woof to the homebound. So, the wiki needs to get detailed information to users about therapy dogs, be fun and appealing for kids, easy to design and update, and fit in with the quality of the rest of the LCPL web page. Because this is an experimental program, cost, at least for now was a concern. They wanted information to be shared between the children’s programs and outreach/bookmobile, and the community at large with the interaction with Sir Raleigh and using therapy dogs in the library. Reflecting shared library and community experiences with a therapy dog would give credibility for using them in the library. Other libraries that have used therapy dogs can also contribute their experiences, and links can be added to www.librarydogs.com and www.therapydogs.com . What better way to pull the community into the library than with a warm furry friend helping the young and old. The wiki could be expanded to include books relating to dogs for children and adults, events involving pets, caring and training of pets, and tied into Florida’s hurricane readiness for pets.
4. After exploring the different types of wikis on www.WikiMatrix.com , I decided the best route would be an open wiki. These use open source software and are free. They are Web-based, simple and can be used on any browser and any computer. Users can contribute to this wiki by simple using their library card number. This would help keep out unwanted editing of the wiki. The free wiki to be used is www.doowikis.com . This wiki is simple, quick, and has lots of fun applications. There is an excellent example at www.doowikis.com/?gclid=CPjTwrj23gECFRuenAodSWRTIA.com. When you get there go to Real-World Example and then to "this independent web" to see a great example of what the LCPL wiki could look like, with a little twiking of fur, tails, and woofs!

HiHO it's off to work I go....

Well, I feel like red riding hood being chased by RSS the wolf! I am off to Odum and then back here to tackle the rest of the project and get that in tonight!!! Hopefully Sir R will not be needy or we will have to sneak in a trip to Freedom Park, or a romp with the hose in the backyard. He jumps HIGH to eat the stream of water and takes great joy in getting soaking wet, but what pure pleasure he gets (and I get a good laugh as long as he stays out of my flowers!)

I could Spend Hours

I could spend hours playing with this stuff. I sit down to do wikis and an hour later I am still playing with blogs and rss feeds. I'm done and sir wants out!

Furry Tails!

This RSS thing is getting to be very confusing. Raleigh is chasing his tail in frustration! I think I will stop by to see Dr. Oguz when I go into the library today. He did say to check with instructor, right? I can update that later!
Sir R had an exhausting experience at the dog park. We meet 2 Westies, one of which also is interesed in therapy work. Also the President of PETS, which is a nonprofit tha stresses pet education and particularly teaching children how to act around pets....important thing for Sir R and I to know as we prepare for children in the library.
On to WIKIS!

Yahoo!

I did it!!!!!

Testing

I am testing to see if this posting will appear on the RSS feed......What a maze! A source of frustration when you dont know what you are doing! Sir Raleigh wants to go back to the dog park!

Evan Needs a Dog

Well, I have watched the Wikipedia podcast, the Second Life and the Farkas one that was very lonnnng. Great info in all of them, all new to me!

Saturday with Raleigh

Sir Walter and I are having coffee and ready to watch our first podcast for class. Yesterday we read two of the required articles in our reading. We thought the one by Kawjewski was an easy read and had lots of good information.I have a question. Is the difference between a podcast and vodcast just the video element? That brings up the RSS feed.....do we have to change anything in this blog on the feed site? I was kind of clueless to some of the steps so I left the selections to the ones that were already checked.
Hope you all can post now, I turned that feature on!
The other article I "looked over was Essential Resources.....which seemed to me a lot of Greek about cataloging software. Is that what you all found too?
Now for the entertainment! Then Raleigh and I are off to Valdosta's Bark in the Park! Sir R says WOOF!

Beginnings

Hi, everyone and welcome to my blog! I guess I need to post a little something about myself. I have worn many hats in my professional career from interior design, travel and massage therapy. Somewhere along the line, due mainly to raising two children, I started working in dentistry, a great part time profession while raising a family. With all that behind me, I am now reinventing myself, and along for the ride is my trusty canine companion, Sir Walter Raleigh. You will probably be hearing about him alot, we are waiting to begin therapy dog certification training as Raleigh wants to be a library dog. So, we both are in school together and will have rewarding library careers ahead!If you would are interested in dogs in the library check out http://www.librarydogs.com.
My background in technology is close to "0". A year ago, I knew how to send emails and surf around the internet, I always had my son as my go to man. And I still do, thanks to Skype! Now I find myself deep in a language that is competely foreign to me! I feel like I'm on a bike going up a mountain! That's why I'm in this class. I was a bit overwhelmed when I looked at the class syllabus, and I will be asking alot of questions, so I hope all of you dont mind! I try to remember to focus on one thing at a time and build on that! Everyday I learn something new, so its a good day!