This is the second thing that I had no previous experience with. On one hand, the research project calculator seems unnecessary. People need to learn how to plan for themselves. This is probably one of the most important things you learn as a student. On the other hand, if you have these skills and are simply wanting to make them more efficient, this tool seems like it would be pretty useful.
The potential applications for this tool are pretty broad. The most obvious use would be for students as an aid in planning research projects. As I said before, hopefully they have some experience doing this on their own. However, this could help a student conceptualize a framework for planning a project. This tool could also be used in a library setting to help effectively manage projects. Again, hopefully library staff have experience in planning, but this could provide an aid to make things go more smoothly.
Sunday, October 11, 2009
15.
This is the most interesting Thing so far. I am just starting the thing and my initial feeling is that this won't be very useful for libraries, even to the point of being a distraction. Video games are an excellent way to waste time. Maybe once I'm through reading about the use of these games in libraries, my mind will have been changed...
OK, so after watching and reading a few of the ideas on Second Life, I am a little more well-disposed to the idea. In particular I found the book discussions and art exhibits compelling. I hadn't even heard of Second Life (I'm 22 so you'd think I might have), but I guess it's pretty popular? This seems like a pretty innovative way to interact with a younger audience, as well as those adults who are very into video gaming.
That being said, the challenges for something like this are very big. For one, these types of games are extremely time consuming (my roommate last year failed out in his last semester before graduating because of World of Warcraft, and had been a very good student before). They also have a learning curve. These are really big issues for libraries that are already likely dealing with funding and staffing cuts. Do we really have the resources to devote to something like this? These resources could certainly be diverted to more useful things, in my opinion. This is not to say that things like this shouldn't be tried, but I think that this would be a waste of energy for most institutions.
By the way the First Life parody site is pretty hilarious. This brings up the issue, should we be encouraging kids to play video games? I know that games have some useful functions, I play games fairly often myself. I also read the "8 myths" and agree completely with all but the one about social interaction. I think the type of social interaction you get playing games is fairly limited. The biggest concern for me is that encouraging kids to play video games will keep them from actually getting outside and getting exercise, which they definitely need.
OK, so after watching and reading a few of the ideas on Second Life, I am a little more well-disposed to the idea. In particular I found the book discussions and art exhibits compelling. I hadn't even heard of Second Life (I'm 22 so you'd think I might have), but I guess it's pretty popular? This seems like a pretty innovative way to interact with a younger audience, as well as those adults who are very into video gaming.
That being said, the challenges for something like this are very big. For one, these types of games are extremely time consuming (my roommate last year failed out in his last semester before graduating because of World of Warcraft, and had been a very good student before). They also have a learning curve. These are really big issues for libraries that are already likely dealing with funding and staffing cuts. Do we really have the resources to devote to something like this? These resources could certainly be diverted to more useful things, in my opinion. This is not to say that things like this shouldn't be tried, but I think that this would be a waste of energy for most institutions.
By the way the First Life parody site is pretty hilarious. This brings up the issue, should we be encouraging kids to play video games? I know that games have some useful functions, I play games fairly often myself. I also read the "8 myths" and agree completely with all but the one about social interaction. I think the type of social interaction you get playing games is fairly limited. The biggest concern for me is that encouraging kids to play video games will keep them from actually getting outside and getting exercise, which they definitely need.
14.
Library Thing is a great interactive way for people to organize and share their book interests. In a way it is like itunes meets facebook for book nerds. I think the interface is nice because it allows you to see the covers of the books, an experience that is missing in the digital realm. Again this is a lot like itunes or any other music organizer.
I really like the idea of using library thing to highlight new books in a library's collection. It could also be a way for patrons to compare their book interests to the library and find new books. Another idea I liked was adding a library thing feature or link from a library's OPAC. This could draw patrons who generally go straight to the catalog into a library's 2.0 efforts.
As far as archives go, this tool is fairly limited in use. Archives deal with unique materials rather than published materials, so there is no equivalent. The closest thing I can think of is something for pictures, like flickr, where an archive could upload its photo collections and users could find similarly tagged photos.
I really like the idea of using library thing to highlight new books in a library's collection. It could also be a way for patrons to compare their book interests to the library and find new books. Another idea I liked was adding a library thing feature or link from a library's OPAC. This could draw patrons who generally go straight to the catalog into a library's 2.0 efforts.
As far as archives go, this tool is fairly limited in use. Archives deal with unique materials rather than published materials, so there is no equivalent. The closest thing I can think of is something for pictures, like flickr, where an archive could upload its photo collections and users could find similarly tagged photos.
13.
I started using iGoogle 3 or 4 months ago. What really attracted me to it was the fact that I already had a gmail account. It is already my permanent homepage. I like that I can get my email inbox, news headlines from multiple sources, weather, maps, and translation on a single page. I can also quickly access my calendar, documents, rss feeds, and this blog from iGoogle.
The calendar is nice because it can be synched with ical or outlook, and it emails me reminders for homework deadlines. I wish there was a bit more functionality in terms of being able to bold, italicize or highlight things in the calendar. Of course the ability to create color coded calendars is very nice.
The to-do tools seem to be a way to fill in a gap that I dislike in the calendars. Google calendar emails me reminders but I wish there was a way for me to "cross out" what I've already completed. I currently use a physical calendar (shocking, I know) to do this. I may end up adding one of these to-do tools to my productivity repertoire.
Backpack seems really useful. It has so many features that it might be a bit overwhelming. However, it seems much more well suited for productivity within an organization like a library or archive. It could allow for communication among the staff, and perhaps between divisions branches. Honestly after taking the backpack tour I feel like the google productivity suite is a bit weak.
The calendar is nice because it can be synched with ical or outlook, and it emails me reminders for homework deadlines. I wish there was a bit more functionality in terms of being able to bold, italicize or highlight things in the calendar. Of course the ability to create color coded calendars is very nice.
The to-do tools seem to be a way to fill in a gap that I dislike in the calendars. Google calendar emails me reminders but I wish there was a way for me to "cross out" what I've already completed. I currently use a physical calendar (shocking, I know) to do this. I may end up adding one of these to-do tools to my productivity repertoire.
Backpack seems really useful. It has so many features that it might be a bit overwhelming. However, it seems much more well suited for productivity within an organization like a library or archive. It could allow for communication among the staff, and perhaps between divisions branches. Honestly after taking the backpack tour I feel like the google productivity suite is a bit weak.
12.
This thing has a special, funny significance for me. A friend of mine recently met someone through the social aspect of Stumbleupon. They met through their shared interests and really hit it off. They decided to get married about two months after meeting on stumble, and have been living together for several months. I think its a bit crazy but it makes for a good story.
These sorts of tools could be useful for a library to promote content and increase patron participation (seems to be a common theme here). A specific network for the library could be created using one of the sites, and then the library staff could submit interesting articles. This would allow the users to rate how interesting or useful they are. The users could also use this as a way to show a library an area of interest that should be addressed.
The big problem is that just because things are popular does not mean that they are good or valid. The most popular things on these sites often seem to be lowest common denominator material. Also, I think they are excellent ways to waste time. Several of my friends are digg or stumble users, and they always talk about how much time they waste using them. These tools can be used to find some very interesting things, but a lot of the time it is just funny or interesting fluff.
These sorts of tools could be useful for a library to promote content and increase patron participation (seems to be a common theme here). A specific network for the library could be created using one of the sites, and then the library staff could submit interesting articles. This would allow the users to rate how interesting or useful they are. The users could also use this as a way to show a library an area of interest that should be addressed.
The big problem is that just because things are popular does not mean that they are good or valid. The most popular things on these sites often seem to be lowest common denominator material. Also, I think they are excellent ways to waste time. Several of my friends are digg or stumble users, and they always talk about how much time they waste using them. These tools can be used to find some very interesting things, but a lot of the time it is just funny or interesting fluff.
11.
Delicious seems like it could be very useful. Not only does it allow users to organize their bookmarks by multiple categories, it allows them to be accessed from any computer with internet connectivity. This seems especially useful to me as I can be on three or four computers throughout the day. The tagging would be very useful for research, especially when articles address multiple topics. I may end up using delicious to help out with my research projects this semester.
In addition to research, this could would obviously be very useful for personal bookmarking. What comes to mind immediately for me is all the recipes I bookmark. Rather than just having something organized under seafood, I could have it under seafood, pasta, and tomatoes.
I'm a bit unsure about the potential of something like this for library-patron interaction. The problem would be if a library used one social bookmarking utility, it would be much more useful for the patrons who used that utility than patrons who used another. Perhaps there is a middle ground. This doesn't mean a library should abandon something with so much potential. Like wikis, this could point patrons toward useful information they might not otherwise find.
Also, it seems that this would be a great way for inter and intra-library communication. Useful library-related articles, websites, and other things of that nature could be shared this way (the same could be said of archives).
In addition to research, this could would obviously be very useful for personal bookmarking. What comes to mind immediately for me is all the recipes I bookmark. Rather than just having something organized under seafood, I could have it under seafood, pasta, and tomatoes.
I'm a bit unsure about the potential of something like this for library-patron interaction. The problem would be if a library used one social bookmarking utility, it would be much more useful for the patrons who used that utility than patrons who used another. Perhaps there is a middle ground. This doesn't mean a library should abandon something with so much potential. Like wikis, this could point patrons toward useful information they might not otherwise find.
Also, it seems that this would be a great way for inter and intra-library communication. Useful library-related articles, websites, and other things of that nature could be shared this way (the same could be said of archives).
9.
I already use google docs regularly, but I had not even heard of zoho prior to this exercise. From what I gather, Zoho has a few more processing features that make it more functional than google docs. However, google docs seems to be more well-suited to collaboration. This is especially evident in the edits of the DI, where the google doc is much more heavily edited. This seems to me to demonstrate the greater collaborative abilities of google docs. As I mentioned in the last post, I use google docs for group work in my LIS 5033 class. This works very well, as we can edit in near real-time.
That being said, the two utilities seem to be very similar. The main reason I would prefer google docs is that I use google for mail and calendars as well. I guess this means the internet has turned into wal mart. Perhaps I'm settling for an inferior product because I can find all these utilities under google's "cloud."
I have a feeling the founding fathers would be pretty appalled by the edits of the declaration of independence (unless the collaborative utilities were open to educated, white, property-owning men). Maybe they would appreciate the input from the commenting feature on zoho. If they had been using it amongst themselves, it might have been a powerful tool. But it would also likely have led to a great deal more bickering over details. My 5033 group has not had this problem, but I'm guessing the founding fathers were a bit more egocentric.
That being said, the two utilities seem to be very similar. The main reason I would prefer google docs is that I use google for mail and calendars as well. I guess this means the internet has turned into wal mart. Perhaps I'm settling for an inferior product because I can find all these utilities under google's "cloud."
I have a feeling the founding fathers would be pretty appalled by the edits of the declaration of independence (unless the collaborative utilities were open to educated, white, property-owning men). Maybe they would appreciate the input from the commenting feature on zoho. If they had been using it amongst themselves, it might have been a powerful tool. But it would also likely have led to a great deal more bickering over details. My 5033 group has not had this problem, but I'm guessing the founding fathers were a bit more egocentric.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
