STOU PROJECT IDEAS - Cysewski



Finding, Gathering and Sharing Information Using the Internet

Stephen Cysewski ffsdc@uaf.edu

Finding, Gathering and Sharing Information Using the Internet:

Step By Step Exercises

Stephen Cysewski ffsdc@uaf.edu

I have provided these practical step by step procedures to use the tools that I demonstrated in my presentation. The presentation and the supporting web sites are available at . The purposes of these tools, and how they apply to faculty and staff, are explained in my presentation.

I believe in the tools in these exercises, I use the tools on a daily basis. I have found each of these tools to be useful, practical, and helpful in my career. These tools are not only practical they are, at least for me, fun to use.

To use these exercises I am assuming that you will be using Windows XP and Internet Explorer 6.0. These exercises can be used to begin using the recommended tools. If you find the tools useful reading the FAQ and the Help for each of the tools will explain the capabilities of the tools in greater depth. All the tools in these exercises are free of cost.

Each exercise has numbered steps, if you follow the steps in order, and compare the illustrations and instructions with your own computer the exercises should work. If the explanation is preceded by a bullet instead of a number it is for information only. If there is a problem do not be afraid to improvise. Look carefully at the screen and the documentation for clues as to the next step. When in doubt do something!

In some cases there are alternatives to the recommended tools, for instance de licio us does the same thing as My Web 2.0 and you can subscribe to RSS feeds with many tools other then Bloglines. The tools that I am demonstrating are the ones that I use and recommend. Next month there might be different recommendations.

The tools that I am describing are changing, since I wrote these exercises, Yahoo has purchased the de-liscio-us web site and Gmail has added RSS feeds. Even if the tools change, the basic procedures and concepts should remain the same.

● Google Toolbar Page 2

● Google Desktop Page 8

● Gmail Page 12

● Evernote Page 18

● Blogger Page 24

● Bloglines Page 37

● My Web 2.0 Page 45

In addition to the web references in my presentation, I have provided a faculty support web site at

with information that is valuable for supporting faculty.

Google Toolbar, Google Desktop, and the “BlogThis” Button for Internet Explorer

• Google Toolbar for Internet Explorer

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• Google Desktop

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1. Make sure Internet Explorer is your current browser and go to

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2. Choose a language from the Other Languages drop down list; I will use English for this exercise.

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3. You will get a security warning, you can click the Save button to save the file to your local computer or you can click on Run to install the software immediately. I will choose Save because I want to keep the file to use later.

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4. If you choose Save you will then choose your location, I have created a Downloads folder in the My Documents folder.

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5. When the Download is complete you can choose Open Folder to select the downloaded file and then Open or Run the selected file, either command will start the Install process.

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6. Select the GoogleToolbarInstall.exe file and either Open or Run it.

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7. You will get a Security Warning again, just select the Run button.

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8. The Google Toolbar Installer will begin. I choose to Make Google my default search engine and also to let the installer Close all Internet Explorer windows.

9. Choose Agree and Continue

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10. Because I do not have a fast Internet connection I do choose to Disable advanced features.

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11. Select Finish and the Install process will begin.

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12. If you are using Windows AntiSpyware you will get a variety of notices, just approve them and continue.

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13. Google Toolbar will now be installed.

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14. Choose the Options menu under the Google Drop Down List to add the Blog This button to your toolbar.

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15. This is the Browsing Tab for the Toolbar Options Menu. You can change the options if you want.

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16. This is the Search Tab for the Toolbar Options Menu. My selections are illustrated below.

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17. This is the More Tab of the Toolbar Options menu. Turn on the BlogThis! Button under Google Shortcuts. The BlogThis! Button makes it vary easy to add information to all your blogs. We will create a blog in later hands on exercises.

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18. The Google Toolbar is now installed, your can choose to Take a quick tour, but for this exercise we will now install the Google Desktop Search.

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19. You will go to the Google Desktop web site at

20. Choose the Agree and Download Button.

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21. You will get a Security Warning, choose Run.

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22. You will be asked again, and confirm again, that Yes you really want to Run the application.

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23. Eventually, depending upon the speed of your Internet Connection, Google Desktop will install. Notice that you have a new Desktop Button.

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24. I will search for STOU on my computer using Google Desktop you can enter a different search term. Explore using the Desktop Search for awhile.

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25. The results are displayed below. Try searching using Desktop on your computer. It might take awhile for your files to be indexed. Notice the Files and Web History choices.

26. After looking at the results, choose the Desktop Preferences Link.

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27. There are many ways to customize Desktop Search. Because of low bandwidth I select None for the Search Box. If I had a fast computer, a large computer screen, and bandwidth I might choose other options.

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28. We will create a Blog using in another exercise, but installing the Google Toolbar makes posting to your Blog simple. I will demonstrate. If you do not have a blog yet, just read the instructions and remember them for later use.

Demonstration of Blog This Button. Do not follow if you do not have a Blog yet.

1. Select a web page that you want to share, I used the web page for this mornings presentation.

2. Click on The Blog This button

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3. A new browser window, with the URL for the web page already filled in, will appear. Select the Blog that you want to add a posting to. I choose the Wandering In Thailand Blog.

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4. I wrote some comments to annotate the web page link, when you are done writing additional comments click the Publish link.

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5. After the Posting is complete you can choose to View Blog.

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6. You might get a warning that a window will be closed, click the Yes button.

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7. This is the example of the completed posting. Using web logs is a great way to gather and share information.

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Gmail

This is not a step by step exercise; instead I will illustrate a few Gmail features.

● URL

How to get a Gmail account.

● To get a Gmail account you need to be invited. In order to invite somebody give the person your email address.

● If you want a Gmail subscription I can send you an invitation, just give me your email during a break.

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● Your invitation will look like the example below.

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● The normal Gmail window to read, label, and search for email looks like the example below.

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● Searching is the power of Gmail, I used to use labels, but now mostly just use search. I have searched for STOU and the results appear almost instantly. If I need an email address I can find it by searching for a person’s name.

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● By selecting Show search options a dialog box will provide more detailed search tool, but I do not use them often.

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● Gmail includes spell checking. It will also keep a contact list, or you can use search for finding email addresses.

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● You can create signatures for your email; I have a home account and a work account with different signatures. I forward my work account to my home account when I am in Thailand. Sometimes I switch Gmail accounts to get a different signature. One of my signatures is for being a Professor; the other is for sharing my photography web sites.

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● You can use a different email return address with Gmail. If you want a professional email address you can use it with Gmail. You can then forward your professional email to your Gmail account. Sometimes having an email address that ends with the edu domain, for instance ffsdc@uaf.edu, is important.

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● The Mail Settings General screen can be used to customize how Gmail works, it is good to explore each of the Mail Setting tabs.

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● Labels are tags that can be used to group your email. A message can have more then one Label.

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● Here is the dialog box for my UAF account. I forward my UAF email to my Gmail account. The search capability, the large storage space, the anti-virus checking, the Spam filtering and the labels make my Gmail account much more effective then my UAF account.

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● Gmail has an excellent Help Center. If you use Gmail explore the Help Center.

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● Here is a list of Gmail advantages, I agree with them. I now use Gmail for all my email tasks.

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Evernote

EverNote is a great tool to gather information. Some web sites do not have stable URL’s or require registration to get archived information. Both the Bangkok Post and The Nation do not have stable URL’s to reference old material. The New York Times only posts material for a short time. After the time is elapsed you must be a subscriber to get the archived articles. By using EverNote I have been able to gather and keep useful information.

1. You can download Evernote at .

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2. Go to the Evernote site and download EverNote. After it is downloaded double click the downloaded file to install EverNote.

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3. After EverNote is installed customize Internet Explorer to make it easy to clip web sites to your EverNote file. Right click on the Internet Explorer Toolbar and choose Customize.

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4. Select the Add to EverNote button and Add it to the Current toolbar buttons.

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5. The EverNote Button is now added to the Internet Explorer Toolbar

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6. To see how EverNote can be used to gather information, go to an interesting web site and highlight the information that you want to keep. I have gone to the Bangkok Post to find an interesting article. Click on the EverNote button and the selected text will be added to EverNote

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7. EverNote does not need to be open to copy information into the file. Start EverNote and you will see the information added to the EverNote Tape.

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8. Here is the data as copied into EverNote.

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9. To return to the EverNote tape view click on the close icon in the full screen window.

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10. You can copy any data into EverNote using Copy and Paste. Select any information, including graphics and Copy it to the Clipboard. I used the Right Click Copy command to copy some Word text to the clipboard.

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11. With EverNote open click the New Note icon as illustrated.

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12. Right Click and Paste the information into the new EverNote Note.

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13. Here is the resulting information added to the EverNote tape.

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14. There are many ways to customize EverNote. The Tools/Options menu is an important menu to explore. Explore the Options and make changes that seem appropriate. I have not made any changes from the normal dialog box for my EverNote installation.

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15. EverNote also has excellent Help. Explore the Help and the EverNote Demo to understand EverNote in greater depth.

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16. You can also Download the EverNote User Manual for the Download page. I have found EverNote to be an indispensable tool to gather information from the Internet.

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Blogger

• Blogger

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o

• Creating a Blog

• Posting to a Blog

o Adding a Blog This Toolbar Button from the Google Toolbar (Previous Exercise)

• Blog Settings

• Using Multiple Blogs

• Ways to use Blogs

o By Subject

o For a Community

• Customizing your browser to use blogs

o Using Blog This

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• Searching Blogs

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1. To create a Blog go to

2. Choose the Create Your Blog Now arrow.

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3. Fill in the information requested and then click the Continue arrow.

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4. Name your Blog, spend some time thinking about the Blog address. Make sure it accomplishes your purpose. You can change the name later if you get a better idea.

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5. I am creating a Blog called STOU Experiment. I will delete it after creating it. You may create a Blog with a similar name. No two Blogs can have the same Blog address. Click on the Continue button.when complete.

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6. Explore and then choose a template for your Blog. I am choosing Minima Black. You can change the template of your Blog later. Click on the Continue arrow.

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7. Your Blog has been created. Click on the Start Posting Arrow.

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8. Create a sample Post and then click on Publish Post. You can edit or delete the Post later.

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9. Your Post was successful, hopefully.

10. Click on the View Blog button to see the result.

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11. Your completed Blog with your first post.

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12. In the previous Google Toolbar and Desktop exercise we added the Blog This Button to the Google Toolbar. We will use that button now. If the Internet Explorer Toolbar does not have Blog This button refer to the previous exercise to add it to your toolbar.

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13. Navigate to an interesting web site and then click on the Blog This Button.

14. A window will appear with the URL of the web site. You can add annotations to the web site before it is published. If you have multiple Blogs you can choose the Blog that you want to post to.

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15. When you are done click on the Publish button.

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16. Your posting, along with an active link to the selected web page will be posted to your Blog.

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17. Here is the Posting as it will look in your Blog.

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18. Go to and log in using the identity that you created.

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19. You will be directed to the Blogger Dashboard with your Blog listed. You can edit and configure your Blogs from the Blogger Dashboard.

20. Click on your Blog.

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21. You can edit your Posts or add new Posts from the Posting Tab.

22. Select the Settings Tab to configure your Blog. There are many important Settings that should be customized.

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23. Under the Settings Tab are many configuration choices. Look at the list of Settings Tabs. We will look at each tab and I will recommend a few changes.

24. Under the Basic Tab I would set the Add your Blog to our listings? To Yes and the Show Quick Editing on your Blog? To Yes

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25. Under Settings Publishing Tab I would set the Notify to Yes if you want others to see when you update your Web Log.

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26. Under Formatting tab I would set the Time Zone correctly and also the Unicode settings.

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27. Under Comments tab I would make a few changes. I would set the Who Can Comment? to Only Registered Users. I would then scroll down to the bottom of the page to make some more changes.

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28. I would set the Show word verification for comments to Yes to limit comment Spam. I would also add my email to the Comment Notification Address so I would get a copy of any comments emailed to me. Make sure you Save Settings before you go to the next Settings tab.

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29. I would leave the Archiving tab as displayed.

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30. I would set the Site Feed tab as illustrated below.

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31. Under the Email tab I would add my email address to the BlogSend Address. Each of your Blog postings will be emailed to this account. You will be creating a valuable backup to your postings.

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32. On the Members Tab you can add members to your blog and give them administrative privileges. By adding members you can create a work group Blog or also share the responsibility for moderating or editing a Blog. You can add a member or not.

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33. For each tab, when you make changes, you should Save Settings. Once settings are saved you should Republish the Blog to make sure the settings are activated.

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34. When you are done with the Blog settings you can return to the Blogger Dashboard

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35. The Dashboard is the tool used to create new posts, edit old posts, and to configure and customize your blogs. The Dashboard will list all the blogs that you have created in

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36. If you decide to use Blogger, spend some time reading the help. It is excellent.

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37. If you have created a Blog in this exercise that you want to delete. Select the Blog in the Dashboard.

38. Select the Settings/Basic tab and then scroll to the bottom of the page.

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39. Click on, and confirm, the Delete This Blog button and your Blog will be gone.

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Bloglines

Bloglines has many features, including clippings, creating web logs, and subscribing to RSS feeds. I only use Bloglines for subscribing to RSS feeds and it is wonderful. The first two web sites I open in the morning are Gmail and Bloglines. Bloglines is an essential tool for tracking information.

Using Bloglines I have subscribed to 82 feeds, so far. Imagine going to 82 web sites or getting 82 separate pieces of email each day. With Bloglines all that information is consolidated in one location.

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•

• Using Bloglines

• Creating an account

• Customizing your browser to use RSS feeds with Bloglines

• Searching Bloglines for RSS Feeds

• Subscribing to RSS Feeds

o Toolbar Button

o Add Feed Page

• Customizing Bloglines

o Subscriber Buttons

1. Go to and select the click here to register link.

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2. Fill out the requested information and then click on the Register button. You will now be a Bloglines member.

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3. This is my Bloglines configuration. The RSS feeds are organized in folders on the left. When I click on a folder I will see the individual feeds.

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4. I have clicked on the BBC News. Asia-Pacific, World Edition Feed. To see the full article I can click on the article link.

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5. To subscribe to this feed go to the web site.

6. Notice the RSS Feeds icon on the web page. When you see this icon you can subscribe to the RSS feed.

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7. Click on the What is RSS? link below the RSS Icon.

8. Read the page, it is valuable, and then click on the Bloglines icon on the lower left.

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9. If you are not logged into Bloglines you will need to enter your email and password. If you are logged on, and you set your log in to be remembered, you will go directly to the Subscribe Page.

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10. If you want to organize the feed into a folder you can create a folder, if not just click on the Subscribe button.

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11. Select the My Feeds tab and the BBC New feed and you will have completed your subscription.

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12. Scroll the Extras link at the bottom of the left side Bloglines window and select the Easy Subscribe with Bookmarklet

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13. Follow the instructions to add the button to your Favorites toolbar in Internet Explorer.

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14. Right click on the button and choose the Add to Favorites command.

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15. You will get a warning, say Yes!

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16. Choose the Links folder as illustrated and then click OK.

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17. You will see the Sub with Bloglines added to your toolbar.

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18. To use this new toolbar go to a web site that has RSS feeds. I have gone to You can go there, or to another site that you choose. Click on the Sub with Bloglines button on your toolbar.

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19. You will go to the Bloglines subscribe page, I have a folder for Photography, so I will place the RSS feed in the Photography folder. Click the Subscribe button.

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20. The RSS feeds are now displayed in Bloglines.

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21. Select the Options button. I have not made any changes in my Options, but you might want to.

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22. You can also search for and subscribe to Blogs and RSS feeds through Bloglines. I typed Thailand into the search box to see the RSS feeds.

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23. The Thailand search is listed below, you can simply click on the Subscribe button to add the feeds to your Bloglines subscription.

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24. Bloglines Help is useful. I have chosen the Help/Frequently Asked Questions page to illustrate the Bloglines Help.

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25. Experiment and play with Bloglines. To me Bloglines is an essential web site for gathering information.

Yahoo My Web 2.0

• Using My Web 2.0

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• Setting up and configuring

• Adding a toolbar button

• Using My Web 2.0 to find information

o Community

o All Members

o Tags

• Adding new web sites to your own web

• Finding web sites by using tags

o Everyones Tags

o Your Community Tags

▪ Tag Cloud

▪ Popularity

▪ Chronology

• Subscribing to My Web 2.0 tags with RSS Feeds using Bloglines.

1. You will need a Yahoo ID to use My Web 2.0. If you do not have a Yahoo ID create one.

2. Go to and click on the Sign Up Now button.

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3. Enter your Yahoo ID and Password and then Sign In.

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4. You will then go to the My Web 2.0 search page; my page is already configured, your page will look different. You can add pages, contacts, and tags in My Web 2.0.

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5. I selected My Saved Pages, these are pages that I have added to My Web 2.0 and tagged. Instead of creating bookmarks I now add pages to My Web 2.0.

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6. We are going to add a toolbar button, similar to the one we added for Bloglines so that we can add web pages quickly to My Web 2.0.

7. You can add the Yahoo Toolbar to your browser, but for this example we will add a toolbar button. We will follow the steps described below.

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8. Right click on the Save to My Web link and choose the Add to Favorites command.

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9. Confirm the warning by clicking Yes.

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10. Choose the Links folder so that the link will display on your Links toolbar.

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11. The Save to My Web button will be added to your toolbar.

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12. Go to the STOU home page at and with the CTRL key held down click on the Save to My Web button. IMPORTANT If you do not hold down the CTRL key before you click on the button you will have to confirm that it is alright to let a pop-up appear.

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13. If you did not use CTRL, go back and do so, if you are stubborn you can configure each site to Always Allow Pop-ups for This Site, but that makes no sense.

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14. Seriously, go back and use the CTRL key!

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15. If you used the Ctrl key when clicking on the My Web button, or you went through all the different Pop Up warnings, you will get to the Save this page to My Web dialog box. I add a variety of Tags to the web page. If anybody clicks on one of the Tags they can find the STOU web site.

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16. The Page Saved dialog box. You can close the window or go to My Web. Click on the My Web button.

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17. Here is how the web page will look in My Web. Anybody can select the STOU web page and add it to their My Web site with their own tags.

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18. Tags are crucial to using My Web. I have clicked on the My Tags tab. A Tag Cloud shows tags by size, the more sites that are tagged, the larger the tag.

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19. I switched to My Community’s Tags to see a different view.

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20. Everyone’s Tag view.

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21. Everyone’s Tags sorted by popularity.

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22. You can add members to your Community, and you can group Community members by type. The people in my Community are course designers.

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23. I selected the My Web 2.0 Frequently Asked Questions. If you find My Web 2.0 valuable spend some time exploring the help.

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24. The My Web 2.0 FAQ

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25. Having Web URL’s as a web application is useful, tagging add value to your URLs. You can subscribe to different Tags as RSS feeds so you can see if somebody has tagged a web site with an interesting tab; it is like having a community of people searching for you. Here is an example of subscribing to an RSS feed from My Web 2.0. I have subscribed to the Bangkok and the Thailand tags.

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Disable advanced features

Turn on the BlogThis! button

Choose the Google Desktop Search Link

Desktop Button

Choose the Desktop Preferences Link

Select None

Mail Settings Tab

Spelling Checker

Email signature

The EverNote Button

Click on the EverNote button and the selected text will be added to EverNote

New Information Added

Click on this button to show the data in a full screen window

Options Menu

Browsing Tab

Agree and Download

Finish

Desktop Search Results

Download From Here

The Add Button

Evernote User Manual

View Blog Button

Publish Button

The STOU Experiment Blog.

Settings Tab

Settings Tabs

Back to Dashboard Link

Blogger Help Link

RSS Feed Icon

Register Here

Bloglines One Click Subscription Button

You can create folder here.

The subscribe button.

Select the BBC News Feed

Sub with Bloglines Button

Easy Subscribe with Bookmarklet

XML Feed Icon.

You can customize your RSS feeds by clicking on the Options button.

The Help Button

Click on the Tools Link

Instructions for adding a toolbar button

The new Save to My Web toolbar button

Tags that I added.

Access Choices

Save button

My Web Button

Tag Views

Different Tag Views

FAQ

Enter Search items here

Publish Link

Evernote Help and Demo

Publish Post

A del-icio-us tag subscription

RSS Subscription

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