Blog Archives
Badge: Explore Hobbies (revised)
Hobbies can take you away from your normal life. Reducing stress is just one of the many benefits. You can also add to your education in a fun, exciting way! Explore what’s out there and find something you enjoy.
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Steps
1. Look at hobbies — include arts, crafts and sports.
A starting list is on the last page of this badge program. Choose one you’d like to try from the list or discover your own from your individual interests. Find something *you* like . . . or maybe more than one if you’re more ambitious.
2. Traditional research for your chosen hobby.
Go to the library and check out a book or two. Start in the kids’ section as the material presented here is easier to grasp when you’re starting fresh.
3. Online research for your chosen hobby.
Go to your favorite search engine and do a search for your hobby. You can also check out the following types of sites:
- Teacher lesson plans
- Kid / parent activity sites
- Homeschooling sites
- Vendor / supplier sites
4. Take a class in the hobby you’ve chosen.
Check out local hobby and craft stores, interest groups or even online classes. Perhaps your local YMCA or park system has enrichment programs for adults. Take a class. This will give you some basic information, a teacher to ask questions of and a group of like-minded individuals to play with, if you choose.
5. Practice your new hobby alone or with a group.
The nature of your chosen hobby may lead you to do it alone or in a group. Some will allow you do both. Do not discount online groups as well as those that meet locally. Some may cost money such as a scrapbooking consultant who will teach you scrapbooking at no cost, but you have to pay for the representative’s products to participate.
6. Share your new hobby with family and friends.
Show what you have learned and be able to answer the following questions.
- Why did you choose it?
- Would you do it again?
- What did you like / didn’t like about it?
- How can you share your experiences?
7. Share your new hobby with other enthusiasts and find out more information.
Share your new hobby with other enthusiasts and find out even more information.
- Web (Yahoo! Groups, blogs, etc.)
- Local individuals
- Formal or informal groups
- Vendors / suppliers
8. Teach others what you’ve learned.
Turn your hobby into a training session for other adults, teach it to kids or even family members who show an interest.
9. Start or help with a club for your hobby.
Sharing your hobby not only expands your knowledge, you also can have fun with others sharing similar interests. Find a local or online club or group that also does your chosen hobby. Join and participate in the club. If you cannot find a club, start your own!
10. From hobby to career.
Some people enjoy their hobby so much they make it a successful career. Writing about your hobby, providing supplies / resources or even teaching can provide either supplemental or full income. Explore the possibilities of how you can make money from your hobby.
11. Create a hobby.
Perhaps you find you like more than one hobby. You can create a new one from combining things you already like to do. Wind surfing is a great example of taking two different sports and combining them in a new way.
You can also create one from scratch if there is no hobby covering what you like. You may be amazed when others start asking you to do your hobby.
12. Write up a badge program for your hobby.
Another way to share your hobby is to create a badge program for the AEP. After creating your own steps, ask another enthusiast look at it to see if it is complete. Make adjustments as needed and submit it to AEP.
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Sites to Explore
www.notsoboringlife.com
www.findmeahobby.com
www.discoverahobby.com
www.wikihow.com/Find-a-Hobby
www.buzzle.com/articles/list-types-of-hobbies
lifestyle.iloveindia.com/magazine/hobby-ideas-7.html
www.ehow.com/hobbies
www.hobbies-and-pastimes.com
hobbies.suite101.com/article.cfm/finding_hobbies_for_your_kids
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Hobby Possibilities List
This list can be found on the PDF badge program.
Badge: Create Yahoo! Groups (revised)
You should complete the “Explore Yahoo! Groups” badge or have equivalent knowledge before attempting to do this badge program. We’ll look deeper into the possibilities of hosting your own Yahoo! Group.
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Steps
1. Create an account (Yahoo! ID).
You must have an account to create a Yahoo! Group. If you do not have one, please do so before starting this badge program.
2. Examine other groups.
Examine groups you are in, those that are publicly listed, etc. Ask the moderators why they chose to allow some features and not others. Keep notes on the things that you’d like to incorporate into your own group.
3. Yahoo! Groups blog.
Yahoo! Groups has a blog. Look through the posts and identify issues that might affect you.
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Setting up your group
4. Log in.
To create a group, you need to be logged in. See Step 1.
5. Group categories.
Explore the categories and find a group similar to yours. Search by various terms *you* would use. Where they are located within the group’s hierarchy? You may find more than one possibility for your group’s location. You will want to go deeper than one level to put yourself into a “niche.” Make a note where you want to be placed so you’re ready for this question.
6. Name.
You want a unique name. You may want your name to be easily identifiable with your group’s purpose or have a completely unique name that you plan to build into a brand.
Write down a few ideas. Check to see if there are groups with the same or similar names before choosing one.
7. Group description.
Create a group description before you start. Proofread it carefully to make sure you have no errors. After your group name, this is the item most people will read.
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Management
8. Group settings.
Explore your group settings. These include:
- Description & Appearance
- Messages
- Membership
- Web Tools
Make any adjustments you feel are necessary.
9. Security.
To keep your group secure, you can choose a variety of possibilities from the Management menu. Think about how you and your group members will be using this group. You can have a lot of security or very little. NOTE: Some options, once chosen, cannot be changed. Be very careful before you choose them.
Listed / Not listed
Description & Appearance: If you’re listed, anyone can find you by searching through Yahoo!’s directory. Not being listed helps you keep undesirables out as well as people who might be genuinely interested. Decide if security is more important to you.
Posting / Archiving Messages
Messages: You can determine who can post, where it goes, whether it’s moderated (you approve before messages go out) and if attachments are allowed. This keeps possible spammers from bombarding your group before you realize what’s happening. You can also turn off Archiving so that messages are not saved.
If you’re sending out a newsletter, you can be the only one posting. For feedback, make sure everyone can post.
Membership
When someone wants to become a member, this is what they will find. Is it open and anyone can just click to join? You can use restricted (like the AEP group) where you need to let the moderator know why you’re joining in. This keeps groups from being taken over by spammers. You can also chose closed, so only people you directly invite can join. An extra security measure is to hide e-mail addresses from the group.
10. Confusion.
If you’re confused about security, join a few groups and see how they handle security. Ask the moderator why certain settings are selected and decide if that’s what you want too.
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Yahoo! Group tools
11. Messages / mail.
Messages and mail come not only from the people in your group. Yahoo! can send out a message when you add files and do other work on the group’s pages. Here are a few message issues to start thinking about. Review your group to see what other tweaks you want.
- Attachments
- Approval before releasing mail
- Archiving mail
12. Files.
Before starting your filing system, think about the files you’ll be uploading. Ask yourself how these can be grouped into folders. If you are allowing others to post files into your area, you may want to create empty folders with descriptions so they know where to place items. Remember you have a limited space. If you approach it, you will need to remove files. This may just be deleting and keeping them available for request offline or finding a place online to host them for you.
File access can be one of the following:
- Members (upload / modify / download files)
- Limited (members can download; moderators do all)
- Moderators only (members cannot access files)
- Off (file area not available)
Decide how you want your members to use your File area.
13. Photos.
When you just want to show finished projects, photos or other viewable items, you’ll want to use the Photos area. Create photo albums for uploads, similar to what you did for the Files area.
Photo access can be one of the following:
- Members (upload / modify / download)
- Limited (members download; moderators do all)
- Moderators only (members cannot access files)
- Off (photo albums not available)
Decide how photos can help your group.
14. Links.
Links allow you to create a list of links to relevant Web sites. You can leave them loose or place them in folders to help your members find this information quickly. By clicking a link, it will take you outside Yahoo! If you feel that your members might not be savvy with this, you may want to place a note about opening links in a separate tab / window.
Links access can be one of the following:
- Public (anyone, including non-members, can view)
- Members (create / modify / delete links)
- Limited (members can view; moderators can adjust)
- Moderators only (members cannot access links)
- Off (no links available)
You may want to make your links available outside of Yahoo! Groups. If so, find a bookmarking site that you are comfortable with and utilize it.
15. Database.
Database allows you to create a table of information that the group can add to. Yahoo! provides a few templates you can use, such as a Frequently Asked Questions template. Look through the provided templates and brainstorm how you can utilize them.
You can also import databases from programs you use. You’ll need to be able to export from your software and import into Yahoo! groups. Try importing a database to see how the fields look from the different programs and what adjustments you need to make for visual appeal.
Database access can be one of the following:
- Members (members can access)
- Limited (members can view; moderators can adjust)
- Moderators only (members cannot access database)
- Off (database not available)
16. Polls.
Want to know what your members think? You can write your own questions and answers. Choose one answer or many. Add a completion dates on your polls so all that remains after your polling time is a chart showing the results.
Polls can be utilized by:
- Members (members can create / modify / vote)
- Limited (members vote; moderators create and adjust)
- Moderators only (members cannot access polls)
- Off (polls not used)
17. Members.
Members gives you a brief glance at the people in your group. It shows their profile information, how they’re receiving mail from your group, etc. If you have set your membership to “restricted” this is where you will need to go to approve new members from the Web who have requested to join. You can also approve pending members via email.
Members can be used as follows:
- Members (members view profiles; moderators can view / change)
- Moderators only (only moderators have access)
- Off (no one can see the member list)
18. Calendar.
You can enter meetings, events or any other important date into your calendar. For regularly scheduled meetings, you can set the meeting to repeat. Your Yahoo! Group can send automatic email reminders to the group about anything you’ve posted on the calendar.
Calendar choices include:
- Public (anyone, including non-members, can view events)
- Members (members can create / modify / delete events)
- Limited (members can view; moderators can adjust)
- Moderators only (only moderators can use calendars)
- Off (calendar feature not used)
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Additional tools
19. Invite people.
You can invite people to your group. This is great for people who will be willing to help. However, you may want to wait until you’ve set up your design and played with it a bit before releasing it to the world. Invite people by using the “Invite” link to send invitations to individual email addresses. If the addresses are not Yahoo! group IDs, you may want to suggest they obtain a Yahoo! ID for additional access to group information.
20. Promote.
Promote gives you graphics and HTML code to place on your Web site, blog, etc. that links back to the group.
21. Chat.
Chat is in beta-testing. This means that you can use it, but it’s not fully tested and working 100% of the time. Check out the chat feature and see if it’s something you’re interested in using.
22. Applications.
Applications is also in beta-testing. You can add applications in place of or to supplement other Yahoo! Group tools. Find really cool add-ons that your group will utilize. Here are a few to give you an idea of what’s available.
- Address book
- Birthdays
- For sale
- How to (instructions)
- People map
- Quote me
- Reviews
23. Share.
If you’ve created your own group, please share it with other members of AEP. You can serve as a mentor to someone else or even just use this as an opportunity to promote your group.
Sites to Explore
groups.yahoo.com
help.yahoo.com/l/us/yahoo/groups/original
www.ygroupsblog.com/blog
tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/moderatorcentral
web.archive.org/web/*/http://groups.yahoo.com
tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/GroupManagersForum/links
Badge: Explore Yahoo! Groups (revised)
Yahoo! Groups is the world’s largest collection of online discussion boards. It allows you to not only share emails with people interested in the same things, but you can also share photos, create databases and more. Through Yahoo! Groups you can participate in a community you are passionate about.
The best part of using Yahoo! Groups . . . it’s FREE!
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Steps
1. Create an account (Yahoo! ID).
Creating an account allows you to log into the Web site that houses each Yahoo! Group. Without an account, you can still join a group and receive emails from it. However, there are many choices for the moderator / host to provide for their group such as photos, files and links. If you already have a Yahoo! Mail account, use that login information.
2. Browse.
Wander the categories of the Yahoo! Groups directory. Become familiar with how categories are structured. Find areas of interest to you. The top level includes:
- Animals
- Business & Finance
- Computers & Internet
- Cultures & Communities
- Entertainment & Arts
- Family & Home
- Games
- Government & Politics
- Health & Wellness
- Hobbies & Crafts
- Music
- Recreation & Sports
- Regional
- Religion & Beliefs
- Romance & Relationships
- Schools & Education
- Science
3. Search by keywords.
Type in a keyword (or more) to find items that you are interested in and see what Yahoo! Groups has to offer. When you search for groups, you get a thumbnail of the group. Items include:
- Name
- Description
- Members (many members may mean many emails)
- Latest activity (last thing that happened on the group)
- Created (longevity)
- Archive (messages saved for reference)
- Moderated
4. Join a group . . . or three.
Find a group that looks interesting to you. Do not be shocked if you are not immediately admitted. Groups can be open (you can join with just a click), restricted (you need moderator approval to join) or closed (you can only be admitted if you’ve been invited). If “closed”, the group may not be listed in the directory. Many groups are restricted to keep spammers and troublemakers to a minimum.
5. Learn the group.
Groups come in a wide variety of types. Businesses can put out a newsletter that does not allow people to reply to the group. Some groups are interactive and everyone posts . . . frequently.
Many groups have rules. If you do not see rules posted and they do not come to your e-mail box, follow the general rules of online etiquette.
6. Online etiquette.
Be aware of online etiquette. Find a list or create your own. Remember, mistakes happen. If you’re actively monitoring yourself, they happen less frequently.
7. Features.
Log into your Yahoo! Group. Check to see which of these features your group has. See how they are set up and how they work.
- Messages (mail) – you can post from your email OR on the group’s site
- Photo album
- File storage
- Links
- Polls
- Database
- Calendar
- Member list
8. Your main screen.
When you log into Yahoo! Groups, you’ll see a list on the left of your groups. When your number of groups exceeds the allotted space, you can choose “View All” at the bottom of the list to get to the rest of your groups. You can also “Organize” to put those that you go into the most frequently at the top of your default list. View and move some of your groups to try these features.
9. View groups.
You may find yourself excited and joining more groups than you can follow. Log into Yahoo! Groups. On the left, you’ll see “My Groups”. Click the “Manage” to the right of that.
You’ll see a list of all groups you belong to. Groups that you moderate will be placed at the top of your list. You can click on any link and go directly to that group. Toggle between “Simple” and “Expanded” to see the difference. If you’re interested in making changes to any of these settings, see Steps 10-12.
10. Controlling mail.
Log into Yahoo! Groups. On the left, you’ll see “My Groups”. Click the “Manage” to the right of that. It opens up information on your groups, including “Message Delivery” (far right). Click “Edit Your Groups” and we’ll look through the message delivery.
- Individual emails – you receive each email independently so you can follow conversations easily
- Daily digest – receive up to 25 messages in one e-mail each day; this is good for extremely popular groups
- Special notices – you only receive items that are considered highly important
- No mail – remain part of the group when you go on vacation
To help users even more, at the bottom, you can change everything on a page by changing the bottom selection only and applying it to all groups on that page.
Don’t forget to save your changes!
11. More editing.
Go to the same location as you did in Step 10. When you click “Edit Your Groups”, you can choose to change your profile or where your emails are going. So, if you’re going on vacation, you can send your favorite group(s) to an online account (such as your Yahoo! one) so you can access them while you’re away.
Also, check out “My Email Preferences.” If you get too much mail and your email exceeds capacity, your email will bounce. It reports back to Yahoo! that it can’t be delivered. You will need to “unbounce” your email to get it flowing again . . . once you clean out your inbox. Using Yahoo! Mail gives you an unlimited amount of space, so this won’t happen.
12. Leaving a group.
Go to the same location as you did in Step 11. When you click “Edit Your Groups”, you’ll see a column to the right of the Message delivery that says “Leave Group.” If you check a box and then “Save Changes”, it will remove that group from your list.
A second way to leave a group is to select the group from your list on the left side, then when the main page is open for the group, choose “Edit Membership.” You’ll see the same choices for Steps 10-12, but with more detail. At the bottom right, you’ll see a button to leave the group.
Before you leave, you may want to leave a note for your moderator explaining why you’re leaving. If you think you might return in the future, it will make it easier to rejoin. If there’s a problem the moderator doesn’t know about, your action might save others from leaving as well. Besides, it’s polite to say goodbye.
13. Adult content.
Adult content is available at Yahoo! Groups. To get it, you must be old enough and agree EVERY time you log in. Unless you do this, you will not see adult content. If you are interested in adult content, explore the groups to see what you can find without adult access and with adult access.
14. Can’t find a group?
If you can’t find a group that covers your interest(s), make your own. As you explored Yahoo! Groups, you saw many links to start your own group. Before you do, check out our badge program “Create Yahoo! Groups” for a little insight before you start.
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