Increase Your Blog or Web Site Functionality with Mashups

Web 2.0 is all about functionality and user input. There certainly is plenty of data available on the Web, but sometimes it isn't exactly in the format you desire. This is why mashups were born. A mashup draws data (or functionality) from two (or more) different sources and deploys them within a single tool. An example would be drawing location pictures from Google Earth and adding them to house listings from a real estate agency. Lots of mashups are created using Ajax (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML) methodology.

But for mere mortals, like your computer literacy students, Microsoft has provided a site which allows the easy creation of mashups with drag and drop functionality. Popfly is a cool site which you can access for free using a Microsoft Live ID (also available for free). Once you are there, there is a handy tutorial which will have you making your first mashup, which you can then deploy on a blog, social networking site or Web page, in just minutes. But to make things even easier, just watch the video below which shows you how to make a photo carousel mashup and include it on a blog.



So turn your students loose on Popfly and see what they can create. If you are using blogs in your classes (see the Blogging Across the Curriculum blog) or have students creating their own social network on Ning, require them to make a mashup and include it on their site. You may be surprised at what they design!

Create a Web Site - Find a New Career

Over the years, plenty of people have thought that just knowing a little bit of HTML coding qualified them to be Web site designers. But for Linda Katz of southwest Kansas, practicing her Web design skills helped her launch an entirely new career -- as a tumbleweed farmer!

The Prairie Tumbleweed Farm started out as a simple Web design exercise. Linda wanted to practice her skills and created the farm as a joke back in 1994. But, people found her site and soon began contacting her because they wanted to buy the tumbleweeds! One thing led to another, and Linda now has a thriving business. Her customers include NASA, major Hollywood studios, fashion designers, and ordinary people who just want to own one of these iconic symbols of the old West.

Linda was recently featured on Yahoo!'s People of the Web and she has an interview posted on YouTube, which you can view by clicking the link below:



Discussion Questions for Students
1. Do you personally know anyone who is running a successful Internet business? Do you know how they got started?
2. Have you ever considered creating your own online business? What type of product or service would you offer?
3. Hands-on Exercise: Ask students to find a YouTube video featuring an interview with an entrepreneur who operates an online business.