Welcome to the final week of 25 Things @ Huddersfield!
24th Thing – Reflection
Yes, you’re nearly there! A bit of a different exercise this week as there’s nothing for you to discover, but we want to learn from you. Spend some time writing your blog to summarise what you think you have learnt during the 25 Things programme. Tell us what you have enjoyed most and what least and what you think you might carry on using, if anything. Will any of the Things be useful in your work? Let us know.
Is there another Thing that you’ve heard about and would have liked us to include?
25th Thing – Survey
If you’ve made it this far, then we’d like you to take another survey so we can see how much you’ve learnt over the course of the programme! We’ll be sending out the link to the survey via email, so please keep an eye on your inbox.
Are you a booklover or cataloguer at heart? Do you enjoy finding lost and forgotten gems on the shelf to read? Then LibraryThing may be just the tool for you.
Developed for booklovers, this online tool not only allows you to create an online catalogue of your own, it also connects you to other people who have similar libraries and reading tastes. Add a book to your catalogue by just entering the title and find other users who share your reading tastes. There are lots of ways to use LibraryThing. You can even view your books on a virtual shelf, add a widget to display titles that are in your catalogue.
Watch this short video which tells you about LibraryThing…
So why not create your own library online. With 29 million books catalogued, you’re bound to discover something new.
Step 1: Take a look around LibraryThing and create an account.
Step 2: Add a least 5 books to your library.
Step 3: Blog about your findings and be sure to link to your LibraryThing catalogue. How popular were your books? Did you find any discussions about your favourites?
Search YouTube and find something worth adding as an entry in your blog. Try placing the video inside your blog by copying and pasting the code in the embed box to the right of the actual video clip.
Note: Videos, like music downloads are bandwidth hogs. It is recommended that you complete this exercise either at university unless you have broadband at home.
23rd Thing – Podcasts
Podcast is a former word of the month in the Oxford Advanced Learners’ Dictionary.
Podcasts take many forms, from short 1-10 minute commentaries to much longer in person interviews or panel group discussions. There’s a podcast out there for just about every interest area and the best part about this technology is that you don’t have to have an iPod or a MP3 player to access them. Since podcasts use the MP3 file format, a popular compressed format for audio files, you really just need a PC (or portal device) with headphones or a speaker.
iTunes, the free downloadable application created by Apple, is the directory finding service most associated with podcasts, but if you don’t have iTunes installed there are still plenty of options.
Some popular podcast sites that do not require software to download are:
Take a look at some of the podcast directories out there and see if you can find a podcast that interests you. Add the RSS feed for your podcast to your blog. Create a blog post about the process; is there anything useful out there?
Optional extra
If you’re ambitious, why not try out the Gabcast service and add audio post about your experience to your blog.
Find a few image or text generators to play around with and write a post in your blog about one of your favourites and then display the result.
Often adding the image you created to your blog is as simple as copying and pasting code that the page provides. If not, you may just need to right click on the image and then save it to your hard drive before using the blog image button to add it to your post. If you’re having difficulty getting your image added to a post in your blog, ask a colleague for help or email the team.
Step 1: Play around with some image generators and find one that you like. Step 2: Create several different types of images and save them to your computer. Step 3: Post some of your creations to your blog and describe your process for creating it. Note: Be sure to include a link to the image generator(s) you used, so other participants can discover it too.
Take some time and have fun with this exercise. (And remember to be tasteful too!)
20th Thing – Google Docs
Sign in to Google, click on “more” and then select “Documents” from the drop down menu. Create a new document (or try a spreadsheet if you want to get fancy) and enter your favourite things – see below for ideas. Try playing with the formatting if you like.
How about listing your 3 favourite films, books or songs (pubs, places you have been, recipes – whatever)?
Select share – check the 25 Things blogroll to find someone to share with and enter their Google Mail address. Ask your friend to add their favourites to the list and to email your Google mail address when it’s complete.
Remember: do not use Google docs for University business or for sharing sensitive documents
Go to Google Maps and enter the postcode or address of a place known to you – the University (HD1 3DH), your house, the hairdresser’s etc.
Use the map, satellite, terrain and more buttons to look at the different views of this location. Zoom in using the mouse wheel to see how detailed a map you can get.
If you do look at the University, how old do you think the satellite view is and what day of the week do you think it was taken?
Copy the web address of your location and paste it into your blog. Write a few words about Google Maps and how you might use it.
You can also search for businesses and attractions in or near a given place. For example, when you get hungry, you could type in Pizzas in Penistone or Curry in Cleckheaton to find something to eat.
Like many other map services, Google Maps can generate directions between any pair of locations. In Google Maps, click the Get Directions link to find how to get from Huddersfield to Madrid.
In your blog put in the distance and how long Google thinks it will take you.
Google Maps has given rise to a number of interesting offshoot projects and fan sites:
Using your Google login, you can create and share your own maps. This YouTube video will show you how…
Use the My Maps tab in Google Maps to create a map of your own and add some place marks. Make sure your map is public, then use the Link to the page link to copy and paste the web address of your map into your blog. Write a few words on why this map is important to you.
18th Thing – Google Earth
If your stroll around Google Maps has whetted your appetite for more map-based fun, the next level is Google Earth.
This is a virtual globe that maps the earth by the superimposition of images obtained from satellite imagery, aerial photography and other sources. With Google Earth, you get better resolution, 3-D views, the ability to swoop down a location and a wide range of overlays that show the locations of different things – including stars and planets in the sky.
Perhaps the best place for you to start, would be to take a tour.
The downside of all these extra features is that Google Earth has to be downloaded and installed on your computer – which may not be possible if you are working on a University PC.
Take a look at an example of the interesting and amusing videos that people have created using Google Earth…
Do you think there might be privacy issues relating to the every higher and higher resolution digital mapping? Put your thoughts down in your blog.
You might want to read these BBC News stories for more background information:
