I’ve set aside a few days to get comfortable with the site and do the major reading of the course up front. In previous versions of the course, we found this to be useful for students to have read the text and other materials and then apply what they’ve learned to the the various modules. You will see “Action Items” included own my weekly postings – watch for them, they will keep you on track in our course.

Action Items (over the next few days):

• View the Course Intro Video
• View the Assignment Overview Video
• View the Course Site Tour screencast
• Read the foundational resources supplied below.
• Create an account, blog and profile at our course site. (You will be able to export your blog from this site to your own blog at the end of the course…)
• Explore and get comfortable with our course community.
• Review and bookmark/save the course schedule and due dates page.
• Delete the “Hello World” post in your new blog. It will not appear in the activity feed.
• Author your first introductory blog post. This can be text-based (totally fine), video, audio, etc. Be as creative as you’d like! 
• Important!: Share your blog URL as a comment in the OPML link HERE. 

Foundational Readings:

• Buckland, Michael. Redesigning Library Services: A Manifesto. (Available entirely online)
• Casey, M. E., & Savastinuk, L. C. (2007). Library 2.0: A guide to participatory library service. Medford, N.J: Information Today. (Provided by the instructor)
• Mathews, B. (2012, April). Think like a startup [White paper]. 

These readings are the foundational pieces  – #hyperlib students read these during the few days of class. The Library 2.0 eBook has been made available through the generosity of Information Today and the authors, Michael Casey and Laura Savastinuk.

Creating your Account:

You can create your account by following the three easy steps. Note: many of you may have a blog you created in INFO 203. For #hyperlib, I request that everyone get a blog here so all the functions of WordPress and Buddypress work (activity stream, etc). You can export your 287 blog at the end of the course. I post directions later on.

1. Fill in your name, username, e-mail, and create a strong password. You are free to use a pseudonym, but please tell me who you are!
2. Create a blog. Be sure to check the box for the search engines to index the site. It’s the only way your blog will show up in our activity streams.
3. Enter in the registration code. Use the code I shared on our course Canvas site. 🙂

Write an Introductory Post:

Once your account is all set up, take some time to write an introductory post including why you chose this course, what you’re excited about for this semester, your area of interest in the LIS world, and–if you want–a picture of yourself, family, pets, favorite place, etc.  You can also make the introduction a media-based one if you’d like.  (This should be post by Sunday, 8/27)

Quick Blog Tips:

• Change your Blog Theme
• Using @username to Keep Conversations Alive

Also do not hesitate to email questions or comments!

Best to all for a great semester-

Michael