Played around with Library Thing. Very simple and easy to use. If I ever have the time, I will create a full blown "library" with at least a portion of my fairly sizable paper library.
Monday, December 10, 2007
Lesson #21 - Mashup Editors
I couldn't come up with two things I wanted to "mash", but I like the idea of combining two useful applications into one. I always feel like I don't have time to keep up with everything new coming out, and anything that can make my life simpler and easier is absolutely a good thing.
I especially liked Popurls: http://mashupawards.com/popurls/
I especially liked Popurls: http://mashupawards.com/popurls/
Lesson #20 - Mashups
Went to the Mashup directory and browsed through some of the mashups. Spent a little time in the "Secret Fishing Holes" site and found a cool mashup of ACT scores comparisons of all 50 states.
Pretty cool...
http://www.1001seafoods.com/fishing/fishing-maps.php
http://www.mibazaar.com/education/actscores.html
Pretty cool...
http://www.1001seafoods.com/fishing/fishing-maps.php
http://www.mibazaar.com/education/actscores.html
Lesson #19 - Podcasts
Tried Yahoo first, but didn't have a lot of luck. Moved on to podcast.net. Searching for "information literacy", I found a podcast series called "Open Stacks" by Greg Schwartz. They are primarily news items related to librarianship Mr. Schwartz had come across. Interesting. I added a feed in my bloglines account and will keep an ear on it in future.
Lesson #18 - Video - Discover YouTube
YouTube rocks! ;-) It is very, very addictive and easy to get off track. I started out searching for videos that had something to do with librarianship and wound up 30 minutes later realizing that I was watching animation clips of how famous films should have ended. Hah! :-)
Lesson #17 - Processing Words on the Web
I chose Google Docs as the word processing app I would explore. GD compares favorably to Word, in my opinion, since Word really frustrates me at times, trying to be too helpful. GD is a little more basic and intuitive, at least to me.
Again, the collaborative features of GD are the main selling point for me, along with the ease of use in comparison to M-Office products. I think students will find this to be of great use as well.
Again, the collaborative features of GD are the main selling point for me, along with the ease of use in comparison to M-Office products. I think students will find this to be of great use as well.
Lesson #16 - Intro to Web Based Applications
Of the apps mentioned, I found Google Docs to be of the most interest. I have used it myself and it is a very easy to use and powerful application that lets you collaborate in real time. You can literally be editing one part of your document while a colleague is editing another at the same time. You can see the changes being made and can comment on them in real time.
This would be a great tool for our students, especially commuters or distance students. who want to work on group projects without having to travel to Richmond.
I don't think we have to implement or be users of every web 2.0 app that comes down the pike, but we should be aware of them and at least conversant in the major players, because our students are going to expect that, at least.
This would be a great tool for our students, especially commuters or distance students. who want to work on group projects without having to travel to Richmond.
I don't think we have to implement or be users of every web 2.0 app that comes down the pike, but we should be aware of them and at least conversant in the major players, because our students are going to expect that, at least.
Friday, December 7, 2007
Lesson #15 - Wiki Sandbox
We've used wikis in the learning 2.0 planning project, to help plan conference presentations. Wikis are a great way to collaborate in groups that are separated by time and distance. Asynchronous or synchronous.
Lesson #14 Wikis
I've used LibSuccess with great success :-) to see what other libraries are doing and to get ideas for new things we can do here at EKU Libraries.
Lesson #13 - Tagging part 2
Exercise 2:
I think tag clouds effectiveness is spotty, and depends on what you're looking for and the flexibility of the searcher. they are great for acquiring ideas when you're not exactly sure what you're looking for. I basically would expand on the ideas that tags clouds are good "zeroing in" tools, but can be used to expand your search as well and that care needs to be used in employing them.
Exercise 3:
I've presented on del.iciou.us four separate times, so I definitely think it and other social bookmarking sites are worthwhile. I use it to store bookmarks in a central location, search for websites others have tagged, and to share my own. It is great for expertise mining - identifying someone who really knows what they're talking about - and monitoring their bookmarks.
Exercise 4:
tried a search , but didn't get my blog.
I think tag clouds effectiveness is spotty, and depends on what you're looking for and the flexibility of the searcher. they are great for acquiring ideas when you're not exactly sure what you're looking for. I basically would expand on the ideas that tags clouds are good "zeroing in" tools, but can be used to expand your search as well and that care needs to be used in employing them.
Exercise 3:
I've presented on del.iciou.us four separate times, so I definitely think it and other social bookmarking sites are worthwhile. I use it to store bookmarks in a central location, search for websites others have tagged, and to share my own. It is great for expertise mining - identifying someone who really knows what they're talking about - and monitoring their bookmarks.
Exercise 4:
tried a search , but didn't get my blog.
Lesson #12 - Tagging
I tried "web 2.0" in Google and received 517 *million* hits.
I chose "web 2.0", tried a simple guided keyword search and got 388 hits. They were scattered all over the place. I got titles on the Eisenhower roadway system, national forests in Arizona and the like in addition to titles on web 2.0
Tried a subject search in Equest and got 0 hits.
The parallel between between the catalog and tagging is that both describe the object and are intended to make retrieval easier and more efficient. The difference is that tagging is assigned by "real" users and isn't part of a controlled vocabulary. It trades ease and breadth of searching for precision, so the searcher needs to be aware of that caveat.
I chose "web 2.0", tried a simple guided keyword search and got 388 hits. They were scattered all over the place. I got titles on the Eisenhower roadway system, national forests in Arizona and the like in addition to titles on web 2.0
Tried a subject search in Equest and got 0 hits.
The parallel between between the catalog and tagging is that both describe the object and are intended to make retrieval easier and more efficient. The difference is that tagging is assigned by "real" users and isn't part of a controlled vocabulary. It trades ease and breadth of searching for precision, so the searcher needs to be aware of that caveat.
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