Relevance to me as a future information professional

I approached each week’s technology focus with an open mind, and this meant that I did not limit my use or understanding of the applications in terms of library and non-library suitability. However, after exploring the features of many web 2.0 technologies I did engage in research about how the main ‘category’ of technology could be used (e.g. social networking and bookmarking). Most are used socially as well as for scholarly purposes, but not everything that can be used in a library context must be to do with books or educational materials. I enjoyed the flexibility and creativity with which information professionals can incorporate wikis or blogs into their service portfolios, and use social networking sites to maintain and promote library services online.

The web 2.0 applications that have been of particular professional relevance to me are:

• RSS feeds (learning to make a blog or post available for subscription, subscribing to feeds)
• Blogs and wikis (ways to update information and have a current presence, or create a group forum for working on a project)
• Social bookmarking (being able to tag and share recommendations)
• YouTube videos (there are so many explanatory resources online about computing topics)
• Maps and mashups (locating library facilities and creating resources online; also making a mashup by drawing on data from external sources to enrich services)

I also found it beneficial to learn about and ‘play’ with sites like Twitter. Even though I, personally, cannot see the relevance of this social ‘updating’ site to library context. It was interesting to discuss issues like this with my blogging group, as well as seeking other perspectives from professional literature.

This assignment has increased my confidence when it comes to technology. I have to admit that I thought I was technologically incompetent, and had to overcome personal barriers in order to freely explore and experiment without holding myself back. It would be wonderful if this assessment task could be continued in the future, as it seemed to help us to define and work within the transformative space between ‘student’ and ‘information professional’. There is still much to learn, but I am further along that journey than six weeks ago. It also helped me to build on my collaborative skills. The girls in my group and I assisted each other with understanding and using the different web 2.0 technologies. An example was how my recent post helped Katie, in particular, to consolidate her idea of what a mashup is through looking at examples.

Evaluating the experience

From my perspective, this assignment has been both challenging and immensely rewarding. I have to say, that I knew almost nothing about any of the technologies that I have learnt to use/navigate through the web 2.0 tutorial. I initially felt that it was too much, too fast and that we were thrown into the deep end. I struggled throughout the assignment in terms of having to spend a lot of time understanding, using and then blogging about my experiences with the technology. In regard to the learning outcomes of this assignment, I believe it was a success in terms of my ongoing and self-directed learning of new technologies and skills.

The small tasks each week were an excellent way to learn. I felt that each week’s tutorial task had just the right amount of content (theory), and guidance (the suggestions for what to blog about). The only downside that my entire tutorial class found was the intensity of the web 2.0 tutorial in conjunction with the other course-related work. The workload became difficult to manage because we did not finish all of the tutorial tasks in class. This meant that we had to catch up with these tasks, stay up to date with readings, while maintaining our progress through web 2.0.

Possible improvements that could facilitate better learning outcomes for next year’s students would depend on whether the course co-ordinators would prefer depth and breadth, or a more broad and superficial focus on current technologies. The assignment effectively engaged us in contemporary technologies through the weekly tasks, but the time constraints have meant that my understanding and ability is at an introductory (low/medium) level rather than a high level of skill. Basically, if students are expected to demonstrate a higher level of skill and understanding than we have (collectively) shown – changes should be made to the work load of the course so that the tutorial tasks and web 2.0 assignment clash less in the early stages of the semester. Similarly, focusing on fewer technologies in greater depth could assist students in learning at a deeper level.

Thinking in terms of assessment

We have been advised to look at the assessment criteria for our blog assignments in order to reflect on our own learning. I would say that our group has fulfilled the collaborative and interactive elements of this assignment almost without thinking about them. Personally, I have read each post contributed by the members of my buddy group, and tried to comment on those where my feedback could be helpful or relevant. I only commented and interacted on the blogs of my buddy group, but I did discuss issues with people from other blogging groups and view their blogs through the ‘student blogs’ part of the Blackboard site. As a group, our communication was both positive and constructive. For example, the latest entries on the topic of mashups illustrate how we have engaged in online discussions, suggested resources from individual research on the subject, and presented our own ideas (attempting to synthesise definitions) in order to improve our collective understanding of what has been confusing us.

I found that my group fostered a productive and supportive atmosphere which encouraged experimentation. This factored into my own willingness to persist with tasks that seemed daunting or difficult (e.g. Google Maps and social bookmarking difficulties). Whenever I encountered a problem I would research and test solutions, either by using the internet or in the case of my delicious difficulties (with the add-ons on my IE7 browser) contacting the site itself. Other people would comment on my posts and advise possible solutions to my problems, and relate their own experiences with the technology/software. This was a mutual process that my group members and I would engage in – try, try again, blog about it, get advice, keep on trying…evaluate the problem and/or the usefulness of the application.

Since all of the technologies and applications we have been introduced to through the web 2.0 tutorial have been unfamiliar (and some…darn intimidating!), my focus has been on understanding first and applicability second. This was necessary for me, as I could not discuss the potential value of these technologies in a library context without adequately understanding the functions and features of each application. This assignment aimed to equip us with the knowledge and skills to be better information professionals, and I feel I am in an improved position to suggest possible resources in a library and help users of the resources to try and problem-solve their difficulties. On a personal level, this has been a fantastic confidence building experience for me. Despite only briefly exploring these new technologies, I feel like I know ‘what is happening’ in the web 2.0 environment. I did not even know what web 2.0 was before I started.

My blog has, seemingly, become organic in the way it has changed and developed through what I have been learning. You probably cannot see all the ways I have grown in my knowledge – I know I still have a long way to go – but I have become far more tolerant of myself experimenting and making mistakes. This is a far more forgiving medium for learning than prescriptive exercises from a textbook, as each person can work at their own pace and choose from a variety of options within a task.

An unfinished journey…initial reflections

I have been thinking about how I could encapsulate all that I have learnt about web 2.0 technologies into one final blog entry. However, I do not believe that this is the intention of the final blog reflective task. For me, this has been a personal journey of discovery that will not end with a mark being given to me for my blog at the end of this assignment. I will continue to learn and grow in my skills-base as an information professional long after this course is over.

I feel that doing this task through the medium of a blog established a platform upon which to build a familiarity with contemporary web 2.0 technologies and applications. For example, through personalising and managing my blog I learnt how to:

-manage privacy settings, time settings, choose basic layouts, and become a follower of my buddies’ blogs

-add gadgets to give my readers access to other information that would enhance their experience when reading my blog (e.g. RSS feeds from library blogs through the ‘blog list’, subscription to YouTube Lee Lefever’s channel, etc)

-use Google Reader (as Blogger is part of the Google network of applications) and share items on my blog, subscribe to my buddies’ blogs and receive updates from other library/technology blogs and websites.

I found the social interactivity of this group assignment to be invaluable to my learning process. I would not have made half of the progress in my individual learning if my buddies had not been there to explain, give technical advice or simply to understand my frustrations. I still feel like a novice when it comes to this technology, and most of the applications we have been exposed to will require a lot more time to learn and actually apply to a library setting.

All mashed up...

It seems that mashups are our confused tech. topic of the week. I thought that I would try to find some information about them by seeking to answer a few key questions.

What is a mashup? What is its purpose?

'A mashup is a web application that combines data from multiple external sources' (from the web 2.0 online tutorial: Week 6A task)

'Mashups are an exciting genre of interactive Web applications that draw upon content retrieved from external data sources to create entirely new and innovative services.' (http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/xml/library/x-mashups.html)

Mashups seem to be created in order to fulfil a need (see examples), and combine data sources in new and innovative ways to make information more accessible and convenient for users. The data or content for these mashups can be in the form of RSS Feeds, which are like what we subscribe to on Google reader, and similar applications.

What are some examples of mashups?
http://www.programmableweb.com/ Search this site for mashups. It also has a mashup of the day, as well as information about the new mashups that have been put on the web.

In the YouTube video that I have embedded below, the video's creator explains in simple (Loretta-friendly) language about what a mashup is - and he gives examples! I have listed a few of the examples that are mentioned in the video (with links), in case you are interested.

• AnthemsOnMap
• Map your buddies (a mashup of Facebook, Google Maps and Amazon)
• Twittervision 3D
• Cloudme.com (searches Yahoo, Flickr and YouTube by using these three APIs at once)
• Tuneglue (very cool, creates a sort of visual web of music and similar artists)
• VDiddy (combines many APIs)
• Yahoo v Google (compares the results of both search engines, leaving you to take the best ones)
  
  
  

As he says in the video, mashups utilise the functionality of other APIs, and lots of these mashups seem to be map-based in their core concepts. Mashups ( to be legitimately considered a mashup) should have more than one API involved.

I hope this has helped everyone, it certainly clarified my understanding of mashups.

YouTube delight

I am very surprised how I have taken to YouTube as a website! I always avoided it because I thought its main demographic was teenage boys who wanted to share random videos about themselves (remember that boy who wanted people to "LEAVE Britney alone!"). But YouTube has become a favourite site of mine, and I really like having my own account. It lets me share videos with friends through my inbox, save videos to my favourites when I view them, subscribe to different channels and have videos recommended to me based on my predilections (on the customised homepage). This morning I discovered two new things:

1) I can create a playlist (which I made into a Library and Technology videos playlist) and move videos there from my favourites, or save a video I like straight into it after viewing. That is, as long as I am logged in to my account at the time.

2) I saw on my home page a link to YouTube Edu. This is fantastic because it lets you search the videos and channels from colleges and universities affiliated with YouTube. They had some interesting lectures on web 2.0 and libraries. Check it out if you're interested (they are a little too long to embed, they would slow the blog down...).

Below is a mocumentary about a (fake) application called Flutter, it really shows that people are thinking and talking so much about the possibilities of Twitter that the mocking inevitably follows! Seriously, though, it shows that the possible advantages of a new technology need to be balanced with the possible downsides of using it (suitability and purpose). I know that we blogged about whether twitter could truly be useful for libraries or whether this is just trying to adopt a new fad. The jury is still out on that one, in my opinion.

You inspire me too!

I decided to re-examine the template, layout and style options for my blog, as everybody this week seems to be getting a new cyber-look! I perused the available templates, but I quite like this green version of the tick tack template that I currently have. Instead, I changed some of the font colours of the headings and post titles. It's a subtle change, but it adds a little colour where there was grey.

A bit of a shout-out of appreciation: thanks for always sharing your ideas, tips and strategies for getting through both the content and the blog set-up of this course. It's been invaluable to me and I appreciate that everyone is always so open-minded and helpful. Almost a shame that this assignment will be over soon...well, maybe :-)