Thing 8. Share Your Creations

Big Huge Labs Mosaic Maker

A hallmark of Web 2.0 is sharing--your thoughts, ideas, plans, photos, videos, and more. Many Web 2.0 tools we have or will look at are sharing tools—Flickr, YouTube, wikis, blogs, and more all let you share images, videos, and/or information. Del.ic.ious lets you share your bookmarks and the social media sites let you share your likes and dislikes on things you’ve read online.

The tools in this Thing let you share many different kinds of creations via the Web. No need for the computer to have the right software installed to open a presentation, no attachments to open, no remembering your flash drive--you just need an account (usually) and a computer with Internet access. Handy as a backup for your presentations at conferences, your vacation photos, your book preferences, or, as you see in eFolio Minnesota, your personal accomplishments. Web2.0=Sharing!

For this Thing, explore each of the tools listed and then:

1. Choose one of the tools listed under Slideshows, Photos, Databases, and eFolio (and create a slideshow, photo montage, or database. Add photos or information and then link it to your blog.

Create and Share Slideshows
You can use a service like these as the primary delivery method for a presentation or you can use it to share your presentation after you have delivered it. You can share a slide deck on your library Web site to highlight a program, book displays, or anything else you can think to do. Here is an example of a shared slide show Web 2.0 Tools in Your Classroom.

Each service offers different features. Explore these tools:

• Thumbstacks
• Zoho Show
• Slideshare
• Slide
  

Share Your Photos
Flickr and other photo hosting sites are an obvious way to share photos. The sites in this Thing offer "fancier" presentations of your photos. While these are “slide shows,” too, they don’t have the narrative flow of a formal presentation. These tools work best for vacation or library program photo sharing on a blog or Web site

Picture Trail offers many different ways to organize an display your photos. Called Flicks, they can ad pizzazz to yor Web page or blog. Upload your photos to Picture Tail, arrange them into albums, choose your Flick slideshow format, and then save. Just copy the automatically-generated code and paste it into your blog where you want the Flick to appear. This is a Moving Thumbnails Flick.

Flickr badge creates a set of photos that displays horizontally or vertically. You can use your photos or everyone’s to add photo interest to your blog. (after you sign into Flicker, go to http://www.flickr.com/badge.gne)

Big Huge Lab offers many tools for using your photos to illustrate different things—billboards, name badges, motivational posters, and more. It also has a cool feature called Mosaic Maker. The mosaic a the top is an example of the result. Upload your photos (account required) and arrange them in a grid.

All of the photos in these examples are from the MInn23 Flickr account.

Remember, "free" has a price. In the case of many Web 2.0 tools, it is advertising or "special offers." So click through the ad pages, and use the tools. In PictureTrail, once you have viewed the offers, they won't (usually) appear again.

Databases
You can create and share databases of information, too. Create a book “want to read” or recommendations database and put a link on your blog or Web page.

Lazybase lets you create databases that only you can edit or allows edits from others. Here is an example of a non-editable database: Award Wining Fiction

It’s All About You! eFolio Minnesota
eFolio Minnesota is "a multimedia electronic portfolio designed to help you create a living showcase of your education, career and personal achievements." All Minnesota residents, including students enrolled in Minnesota schools, educators and others can use eFolio Minnesota to reach their career and education goals. See Before You Begin to learn more about using this cutting-edge electronic portfolio tool, or go straight to Sign Up.

A registered trademark, eFolio Minnesota is a product of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities in partnership with state workforce and education organizations.

• Take the tour and view some sample eFolios.
• Here are some ideas for educators on using eFolios.

Need more or want to explore? 50 Web 2.0 Ways to Tell a Story is a huge list of tools you can use to create and share online. There are tools for storytelling, scrapbooking, video, audio, remixing, cartooning, and much, much more.

Blog Prompts

• What uses do these tools have for library or personal use?
• Was the tool you used easy to navigate and understand?
• Would you recommend it to others?
• Do you use other sharing tools for photos, documents, or other creations that you would recommend?

Challenge (optional)
1. Create one of each of the sharing types—slide show, photo montage, database, eFolio and then link the results and blog about your experience.