About the Program

 What is a Blog? (officially)

A blog (web log) is a website, usually maintained by an individual, with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in reverse chronological order. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blogs

(Unofficially)

You may think of a blog as an online diary or information source.  Blogs are a simply a series of entries presented in date order (the newest entry always at the top).  Bloggers encourage their readers to comment on their posts or entries. You will find blogs on many subjects, MPPL.org even has a few, News and Events, The Beakly Book Blog, and Check it Out! 

What is RSS? (officially)

RSS is a family of Web feed formats used to publish frequently updated works such as blog entries, news headlines, audio, and video in a standardized format.The initials "RSS" are used to refer to the following formats: "Really Simple Syndication (RSS 2.0)", "RDF Site Summary (RSS 1.0 and RSS 0.90)", or "Rich Site Summary (RSS 0.91)". http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rss

(unofficially)

Have you noticed this symbol  on some of your favorite websites, including MPPL.org?   It indicates that the site offers an RSS feed, basically a way to subscribe to a website or blog's changing content.      

Where do those RSS feeds go? 

Before you subscribe to any RSS feed, you need a place for the feed to go. Special web tools called readers or aggregators compile all of the entries from blogs and sites for which you have a subscription (the RSS feed).  Instead of visiting 5 different sites everyday, you can simply visit your reader.  Some popular readers include Bloglines, Google Reader, Netvibes and My Yahoo.  

Want to know more about how RSS works? Watch this to find out!

Video "RSS in Plain Engish" by Common Craft

Now let's use this technology!

First

Read an entry from one of the following blogs:  Tame the Web  or Library Bytes.

Remember what you read : )

Second

Now blog about it.  Oh, you need to set up a blog before you can blog about it. Actually, you will be asked to blog after every What Do You Know About Web 2.0? topic.  Here are the steps you will need to follow to create your blog:

1.     Go to www.blogger.com

2.     Click to create your blog

        If you would like a little more information, click Take a Quick Tour. 

3.     Follow all the steps at Blogger including:

        A.  Create an account (you may use your MPPL email address if you can receive email from outside

              otherwise use your personal address.)

        B.  Name your blog (This DOES NOT have to be your name, be creative.)

        C.  Pick your template

        D.  Be sure to remember your password and your blog URL (web address)

4.     Email the Learning 2.0 Team.  We need your name, your blog name, and the URL for your blog.

        Your blog will be anonymous, NO ONE else will know the name of your blog unless YOU decide to share

        it with others.  Remember you will be asked to blog about your experiences with EACH topic in        

        the program.

        The L2T will use your blog simply to track your progress, and to make sure you are eligible for the

        Fabulous Prizes!

Third

Now go back and log into your new blog; post your first entry.  Please discuss your experience setting up your new blog, and you can also blog about what you read from Tame the Web or Library Bytes.