Thoughts on Library 2.0 readings.
As I read the articles, I took note of ideas that particularly struck me.
1. "simplicity, rich interactivity, user participation, collective intelligence, self-service, novel and remixed content" This is a great, simple overview of what Library 2.0 is about. This really helped me to take a huge concept and narrow it down to something approachable.
2. "as Web 2.0 reality continues to emerge and develop, our patrons will expect access to everything – digital collections of journals, books, blogs, podcasts, etc. You think they can’t have everything? Think again. This may be our great opportunity." This is a big challenge for traditional librarians who have focused on the issue of authority and collection development. How do we deal in a world where students can have access to everything? We need to help students develop "information, visual, and technological literacy". We can't "give" them the information anymore. We can only teach them how to get the information and assess it.
3. "Perpetual beta" Great concept! Coming from a programming background, this one is tough for me to swallow but I think it's oh so true. Things just move too quickly anymore to expect that we'll have time to perfect offerings. And... I think kids are more willing to accept things that are in a state of flux. They're used to things moving quickly.
4. "users add value" - This is a tough one for people who have been trained for many years to be the providers of information and added value. But even as I grapple with a bit of reluctance to accept this, I read reviews of products and hotels and other items by "regular people" in order to decide what to purchase.
5. "The features of Amazon and Google of interest to students and scholars ought to be incorporated into the services libraries make available. Libraries should welcome the submission of reviews, assignment of keywords (“tagging”), addition of scholarly commentary, and other forms of user participation." Users add value. Although I always look at the "scholarly reviews" of books on Amazon, I also frequently look at the user reviews to see what "regular people" think. After all, it's regular students who will be using these sources.
6. "user tagging" Now. To figure out how to make this happen and see if it works. I think it would be a great thing to have students tag books and electronic resources for curriculum related projects that would help other students (and me) find out what has been the most useful.
7. "Storage (archives, treasures); data retrieval (networks—reference rooms); and commentary and annotation (salon)" I loved this summation of what libraries are all about and the way it reaches back to collect the "old" image of a library with the new ones. After all, human beings are still human beings no matter how they access their information.
8. "Grassroots video, collaboration webs, mobile broadband, data mashups, collective intelligence, social operating systems (network organization based around people rather than content)" Five trends. Great summation again of what's happening in 2.0.
Very helpful reading on Library 2.0 and good placement in this course. I like the idea of giving participants experience in some of the tools then taking a step back to put it all in perspective.
Friday, June 27, 2008
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Week 6, Thing 14
Wow! Information overload. For someone who tends to be a browser rather than a person who has a targeted need/desire for information, this is just overwhelming. The tool is certainly a good one for finding out what's out there but gosh... just how much info can one take?
The Top 100 idea is interesting. I wonder if it tends to lead to conformity, following "news" fashion trends.
I explored Boing, Boing based on it being the top blog. It was pretty amusing although I don't see myself having the time or inclination to read it on a daily basis.
Tagging - the upside is clearly that the power to categorize something is left to individuals rather than some potentially too academic authority. On the other hand, letting subjects be deemed by individuals certainly has the potential to muddy the water and allow related topics to be missed due to inaccurate linking.
There are certainly some educational applications for this (assuming the district allowed access to blog sites) but there's a lot of work to be done with students to help them evaluate sources for bias and accuracy. Even more so than with websites, I think, since blogs tend to be so personal and informal. However, given that this is the world they'll live in, we need to be helping them to navigate it using good critical thinking techniques.
The Top 100 idea is interesting. I wonder if it tends to lead to conformity, following "news" fashion trends.
I explored Boing, Boing based on it being the top blog. It was pretty amusing although I don't see myself having the time or inclination to read it on a daily basis.
Tagging - the upside is clearly that the power to categorize something is left to individuals rather than some potentially too academic authority. On the other hand, letting subjects be deemed by individuals certainly has the potential to muddy the water and allow related topics to be missed due to inaccurate linking.
There are certainly some educational applications for this (assuming the district allowed access to blog sites) but there's a lot of work to be done with students to help them evaluate sources for bias and accuracy. Even more so than with websites, I think, since blogs tend to be so personal and informal. However, given that this is the world they'll live in, we need to be helping them to navigate it using good critical thinking techniques.
Friday, June 13, 2008
Week 6, Thing 13
Found Dipity - a timeline creator. This would be useful for middle school students. A creative way to present information. I created an account and bookmarked this on del.icio.us. (My first observation about this site is that I can't seem to remember where the dots go in the name!) - adding in a link to this site at the suggestion of the team. Great idea for keeping track of things you're interested in. http://www.dipity.com/
I like the suggestions for tags. It helps keep you from creating tons of different ones because you forgot what you put something under. I also like the convenience of having the buttons to mark sits you want to keep.
I also like the comments and tags given by others. It gives some sense of the value of the site. In this case, since the people commenting have bookmarked the site, the comments (presumably) would be positive. I've been on many other sites where people give reviews (similar to comments) and the reviews run the gamut, making it hard to
figure out what reality is. I wouldn't give up the ability to read the comments but it's sometimes easy to get so caught up in reading them and trying to evaluate them that you get bogged down.
This could be a valuable tool to use with my students in learning to evaluate websites. As the students research for a topic (especially in teams), they could create their bookmarks and then have teammates comment about their choices, stating their evaluation of them. Teachers could then assess students ability to evaluate the sites by reading the comments. Since the students del.icio.us name is listed, it would help keep inappropriate posting down. The more I think about this, the more I like it!!! I think I'll suggest it to one of the 8th grade history or science teachers for next year. Yippee! Something to make me look cool!!
As a side-note, I started using Google bookmarks lately. It seems to work in a similar fashion although I haven't explored comments or tagging.
I like the suggestions for tags. It helps keep you from creating tons of different ones because you forgot what you put something under. I also like the convenience of having the buttons to mark sits you want to keep.
I also like the comments and tags given by others. It gives some sense of the value of the site. In this case, since the people commenting have bookmarked the site, the comments (presumably) would be positive. I've been on many other sites where people give reviews (similar to comments) and the reviews run the gamut, making it hard to
figure out what reality is. I wouldn't give up the ability to read the comments but it's sometimes easy to get so caught up in reading them and trying to evaluate them that you get bogged down.
This could be a valuable tool to use with my students in learning to evaluate websites. As the students research for a topic (especially in teams), they could create their bookmarks and then have teammates comment about their choices, stating their evaluation of them. Teachers could then assess students ability to evaluate the sites by reading the comments. Since the students del.icio.us name is listed, it would help keep inappropriate posting down. The more I think about this, the more I like it!!! I think I'll suggest it to one of the 8th grade history or science teachers for next year. Yippee! Something to make me look cool!!
As a side-note, I started using Google bookmarks lately. It seems to work in a similar fashion although I haven't explored comments or tagging.
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Week 5, Thing 12
Rollyo - Having created several Google Custom Search engines, I was familiar with the concept. They both seem to work fine. The nice thing about Google is that it's integrated with so many other apps. I also like the toolbar addition that Google has, letting you go to the site and add it to your CSE from there. The other nice thing is that Google's version allows you not to have ads for education searches.
I've used these quite a bit with middle school students. Although it makes it so they don't have to do nearly as much website evaluation, it helps keep them out of Google overload and gets them to better info.
I've used these quite a bit with middle school students. Although it makes it so they don't have to do nearly as much website evaluation, it helps keep them out of Google overload and gets them to better info.
Week 5, Thing 11
Checked out the Teacher-Librarian ning and spent quite a bit of time there. I was glad to find a middle-school group since it applies directly to what I'm doing and the concerns are quite similar. This is the first thing I've found where an RSS feed might make sense to me.
Del.i.cious - I've started using Google bookmarks but wanted to check out del.i.cious since it seems to be so popular. As far as I can tell, the difference is in the social aspect. Google keeps track of your own stuff where delicious gives you the opportunity to see what others are bookmarking. I think if I could get it fine-tuned enough, this could be helpful but it seems like just one more aspect of information overload to me. Too much stuff and too many ways to do the same thing.
Lulu - I've done a couple of books on Blurb so when I saw this was a bookmaking site, I figured I already knew about it. After some browsing around though, I see that this is really a much more robust site than Blurb. I like the general tone of Blurb and I think it's great for photo/travel books but Lulu seems more well-rounded and also cheaper. Doing a search on Mesopotamia, I actually found a play of Gilgamesh written for teens that would fit with the 6th grade curriculum. I just bought it and will share it with my 6th grade teachers. It would be a great extension activity for some kids. $5.99 for purchase - $2.99 for download. Now to see if I can catalog it.
Google docs - Already using it. Good stuff but lack of formatting bugs me. Maybe I haven't explored it enough?
Twitter - you've got to be kidding. I don't care that much what I'M doing every minute, let alone what others are doing every minute of their day. Too connected for me.
Last FM - can't find any rating labels or information about whether lyrics are explicit. this is a problem for schools.
Yahoo Answers - cool stuff but it seems like it has all the built in trouble with Wikipedia... and more. Anyone can answer you? If they point you in the direction of reliable answers, it seems ok but if kids blindly rely on what someone tells them here, it seems like this could be a problem. Good way, though, to tap into an expert network that might not be very accessible elsewhere.
Whew! There are A LOT of sites. A drink from a firehose.
Del.i.cious - I've started using Google bookmarks but wanted to check out del.i.cious since it seems to be so popular. As far as I can tell, the difference is in the social aspect. Google keeps track of your own stuff where delicious gives you the opportunity to see what others are bookmarking. I think if I could get it fine-tuned enough, this could be helpful but it seems like just one more aspect of information overload to me. Too much stuff and too many ways to do the same thing.
Lulu - I've done a couple of books on Blurb so when I saw this was a bookmaking site, I figured I already knew about it. After some browsing around though, I see that this is really a much more robust site than Blurb. I like the general tone of Blurb and I think it's great for photo/travel books but Lulu seems more well-rounded and also cheaper. Doing a search on Mesopotamia, I actually found a play of Gilgamesh written for teens that would fit with the 6th grade curriculum. I just bought it and will share it with my 6th grade teachers. It would be a great extension activity for some kids. $5.99 for purchase - $2.99 for download. Now to see if I can catalog it.
Google docs - Already using it. Good stuff but lack of formatting bugs me. Maybe I haven't explored it enough?
Twitter - you've got to be kidding. I don't care that much what I'M doing every minute, let alone what others are doing every minute of their day. Too connected for me.
Last FM - can't find any rating labels or information about whether lyrics are explicit. this is a problem for schools.
Yahoo Answers - cool stuff but it seems like it has all the built in trouble with Wikipedia... and more. Anyone can answer you? If they point you in the direction of reliable answers, it seems ok but if kids blindly rely on what someone tells them here, it seems like this could be a problem. Good way, though, to tap into an expert network that might not be very accessible elsewhere.
Whew! There are A LOT of sites. A drink from a firehose.
Monday, June 2, 2008
Week 5, Thing 10
BlogPulse -
Name badge feature is cool. Since I already have the Library Techs create a badge, this would be a good tool to use for that.
Jigsaw puzzle - fun but too expensive to buy ($40)
Mosaic Maker - Ok but Blurb's bookmaking tool is better
Magazine Cover - cool tool. Options fairly limited but still produces a nice product
Movie Poster - looks like more fun for kids
Customized Frame - nice feature. Could make students work look much more professsional. Kids might spend lots more time fooling with pictures than content, however.
Name badge feature is cool. Since I already have the Library Techs create a badge, this would be a good tool to use for that.
Jigsaw puzzle - fun but too expensive to buy ($40)
Mosaic Maker - Ok but Blurb's bookmaking tool is better
Magazine Cover - cool tool. Options fairly limited but still produces a nice product
Movie Poster - looks like more fun for kids
Customized Frame - nice feature. Could make students work look much more professsional. Kids might spend lots more time fooling with pictures than content, however.
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