This one's pretty straight-forward: create, add to, or edit an entry or two to any wiki and write about the experience in your blog.
Browse the List of wikis on Wikipedia or see Library Success for examples of library wikis. You can also look at the ql.things' del.icio.us tag "wiki" for more ideas.
Edited to add: You do not have to create a completely new entry. You may wish to edit or add to an existing entry or page. Apologies for the confusion.
Friday, November 9, 2007
#16 Wiki Me This
A wiki is a collaborative website and authoring tool that allows users to easily add, remove and edit content. Wikipedia, the online open-community encyclopedia, is the largest and perhaps the most well known of these knowledge sharing tools. With the benefits that wikis provide the use and popularity of these tools is exploding.
Some of the benefits that make wikis so attractive are:
* Anyone (registered or unregistered, if unrestricted) can add, edit or delete content.
* Tracking tools within wikis allow you to easily keep up on what been changed and by whom.
* Earlier versions of a page can be viewed and reinstated when needed.
* And users do not need to know HTML in order to apply styles to text or add and edit content. In most cases simple syntax structure is used.
As the use of wikis has grown over the last few years, libraries all over the country have begun to use them to collaborate and share knowledge. Among their applications are pathfinder or subject guide wikis, book review wikis, ALA conference wikis and even library best practices wikis.
Discovery Resources:
Use these resources to learn more about wikis:
* Wiki’s: A Beginner’s Look – an excellent short slide presentation that offers a short introduction and examples.
* What is a Wiki? – Library Success wiki presentation
* Using Wikis to Create Online Communities – a good overview of what a wiki is and how it can be used in libraries.
Discovery Exercise:
1. For this discovery exercise, you are asked to take a look at some library wikis and blog about your finding. Here’s a few examples to get you started:
* SJCPL Subject Guides – a pathfinder wiki developed by the St. Joseph County Public Library system
* Book Lovers Wiki - developed by the Princeton Public Library
* Library Success: A best practices wiki
* Other library wiki examples
2. Create a blog post about your findings. What did you find interesting? What types of applications within libraries might work well with a wiki?
Some of the benefits that make wikis so attractive are:
* Anyone (registered or unregistered, if unrestricted) can add, edit or delete content.
* Tracking tools within wikis allow you to easily keep up on what been changed and by whom.
* Earlier versions of a page can be viewed and reinstated when needed.
* And users do not need to know HTML in order to apply styles to text or add and edit content. In most cases simple syntax structure is used.
As the use of wikis has grown over the last few years, libraries all over the country have begun to use them to collaborate and share knowledge. Among their applications are pathfinder or subject guide wikis, book review wikis, ALA conference wikis and even library best practices wikis.
Discovery Resources:
Use these resources to learn more about wikis:
* Wiki’s: A Beginner’s Look – an excellent short slide presentation that offers a short introduction and examples.
* What is a Wiki? – Library Success wiki presentation
* Using Wikis to Create Online Communities – a good overview of what a wiki is and how it can be used in libraries.
Discovery Exercise:
1. For this discovery exercise, you are asked to take a look at some library wikis and blog about your finding. Here’s a few examples to get you started:
* SJCPL Subject Guides – a pathfinder wiki developed by the St. Joseph County Public Library system
* Book Lovers Wiki - developed by the Princeton Public Library
* Library Success: A best practices wiki
* Other library wiki examples
2. Create a blog post about your findings. What did you find interesting? What types of applications within libraries might work well with a wiki?
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
#15 On Library 2.0 & Web 2.0 ...
Library 2.0 is term used to describe a new set of concepts for developing and delivering library services. The name, as you may guess, is an extension of Web2.0 and shares many of its same philosophies and concepts including harnessing the user in both design and implementation of services, embracing constant change as a development cycle over the traditional notion of upgrades, and reworking library services to meet the users in their space, as opposed to ours (libraries).
Many have argued that the notion of Library 2.0 is more than just a term used to describe concepts that merely revolve around the use of technology; it also a term that can be used to describe both physical and mindset changes that are occurring within libraries to make our spaces and services more user-centric and inviting. Others within the profession have asserted that libraries have always been 2.0: collaborative, customer friendly and welcoming. But no matter which side of the debate proponents fall, both sides agree that libraries of tomorrow, even five or ten years from now, will look substantially different from libraries today.
Discovery Resources:
OCLC Next Space Newsletter – Web 2.0: Where will the next generation of the web it take libraries?
Perspectives: Away from Icebergs; Into a new world of librarianship; To more powerful ways to cooperate; To better bibliographic services; To a temporary place in time
Additional Perspectives and Resources:
Discovery Exercise:
1. Read two or three of the perspectives on Library 2.0 from the list above.
2. Create a blog post about your thoughts on any one of these? Library 2.0 - It's many things to many people. What does it mean to you?
Many have argued that the notion of Library 2.0 is more than just a term used to describe concepts that merely revolve around the use of technology; it also a term that can be used to describe both physical and mindset changes that are occurring within libraries to make our spaces and services more user-centric and inviting. Others within the profession have asserted that libraries have always been 2.0: collaborative, customer friendly and welcoming. But no matter which side of the debate proponents fall, both sides agree that libraries of tomorrow, even five or ten years from now, will look substantially different from libraries today.
Discovery Resources:
OCLC Next Space Newsletter – Web 2.0: Where will the next generation of the web it take libraries?
Perspectives: Away from Icebergs; Into a new world of librarianship; To more powerful ways to cooperate; To better bibliographic services; To a temporary place in time
Additional Perspectives and Resources:
- Library Journal: Library 2.0: Service for the next-generation library
- The Cool Librarian: The Cart Before the Horse
- Annoyed Librarian: A Librarian's Anti-2.0 Manifesto
- Librarian 2.0
- Wikipedia – Library 2.0
- Library 2.0 Discussions (list of great references from Wikipedia)
Discovery Exercise:
1. Read two or three of the perspectives on Library 2.0 from the list above.
2. Create a blog post about your thoughts on any one of these? Library 2.0 - It's many things to many people. What does it mean to you?
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
#14 Getting not-so-technical with Technorati
So now that you’ve been blogging for awhile, you might be wondering just how big the blogosphere is. Well, according to Technorati, the leading search tool and authority for blogs, the number of blogs doubles just about every 6 months with over 110 million blogs currently being tracked by the site.
Yes, these numbers are astounding, but as you’ve already seen for yourselves, blogging is so easy that these publishing tools are being taken advantage of by almost every industry, including libraries.
So how does a person get their blog listed as part of the blogosphere and how can you tag your posts with keywords to make them more findable through a Technorati search? The answer to the first question is that your blog is probably already being captured by Technorati due to the fact that you're already using Blogger, the most popular blogging tool. But if you want to join the party and have your blog officially listed on Technorati and also take advantage of the watchlist and other features, you’ll need to claim your blog yourself.
Discovery Resources:
1. Take a look at Technorati and try doing a keyword search for “Learning 2.0” in Blog posts, in tags and in the Blog Directory. Are the results different?
2. Explore popular blog, searches and tags. Is anything interesting or surprising in your results?
3. Create a blog post about your discoveries on this site.
Yes, these numbers are astounding, but as you’ve already seen for yourselves, blogging is so easy that these publishing tools are being taken advantage of by almost every industry, including libraries.
So how does a person get their blog listed as part of the blogosphere and how can you tag your posts with keywords to make them more findable through a Technorati search? The answer to the first question is that your blog is probably already being captured by Technorati due to the fact that you're already using Blogger, the most popular blogging tool. But if you want to join the party and have your blog officially listed on Technorati and also take advantage of the watchlist and other features, you’ll need to claim your blog yourself.
Discovery Resources:
- Technorati Tour
- Technorati Popular features
1. Take a look at Technorati and try doing a keyword search for “Learning 2.0” in Blog posts, in tags and in the Blog Directory. Are the results different?
2. Explore popular blog, searches and tags. Is anything interesting or surprising in your results?
3. Create a blog post about your discoveries on this site.
Sunday, November 4, 2007
Tips and Zips
Here a slide show to help you move through Things 1-12 quickly. There is an overview of each thing that includes a link to the appropriate post. There are also screen shots and instructions for posting links, pictures, and widgets.
Saturday, November 3, 2007
#13 Tag! You're It!
Tagging is an open and informal method of categorizing that allows users to associate keywords with online content (webpages, pictures & posts). Unlike library subject cataloging, which follows a strict set of guidelines (i.e.Library of Congress subject headings), tagging is completely unstructured and freeform, allowing users to create connections between data anyway they want.
In the past few weeks, we’ve already explored a few sites – Flickr and LibraryThing to name two --that allow users to take advantage of tagging and in week 3 many even used a common tag ("Queens Library") to create an association between photos that we individually uploaded. This week, in addition to exploring Technorati tagging, we want to also take at popular social bookmarking site called Del.icio.us (typed in as http://del.icio.us).
Del.icio.us is a social bookmarking manager which allows you to bookmark a web page and add tags to categorize your bookmarks.
Many users find that the real power of Del.icio.us is in the social network aspect, which allows you to see how other users have tagged similar links and also discover other websites that may be of interest to you. You can think of it as peering into another users’ filing cabinet, but with this powerful bookmarking tool each user's filing cabinet helps to build an expansive knowledge network.
For this discovery exercise, you are asked to take a look at Del.icio.us and learn about this popular bookmarking tool.
Discovery Resources:
* Tags Help Make Libraries Del.icio.us - Library Journal, 9/15/2007
* Otter Group Del.icio.us tutorial (8 min video)
* Us.ef.ul: A beginners guide to Del.icio.us
* Several Habits of Wildly Successful Del.icio.us Users
Discovery Exercise:
1. Take a look around Del.icio.us using the QL L2.0 account that was created for this exercise. Note: In this account you will find lots of resources that have been highlighted or used throughout the course of the Learning 2.0 program.
2. Explore the site options and try clicking on a bookmark that has also been bookmarked by a lot of other users. Can you see the comments they added about this bookmark or the tags that they used to categorize this reference?
3. Create a blog post about your experience and thoughts about this tool. Can you see the potential of this tool for research assistance? Or just as an easy way to create bookmarks that can be accessed from anywhere?
OPTIONAL: If you’re up to the challenge, create a Del.icio.us account for yourself and discover how this useful bookmarking tool can replace your traditional browser bookmark list.
PS Okay, yeah, sure, we said we wouldn't post until November 5, but y'all have been such busy little catch-up bees, and I thought I'd reward you.
In the past few weeks, we’ve already explored a few sites – Flickr and LibraryThing to name two --that allow users to take advantage of tagging and in week 3 many even used a common tag ("Queens Library") to create an association between photos that we individually uploaded. This week, in addition to exploring Technorati tagging, we want to also take at popular social bookmarking site called Del.icio.us (typed in as http://del.icio.us).
Del.icio.us is a social bookmarking manager which allows you to bookmark a web page and add tags to categorize your bookmarks.
Many users find that the real power of Del.icio.us is in the social network aspect, which allows you to see how other users have tagged similar links and also discover other websites that may be of interest to you. You can think of it as peering into another users’ filing cabinet, but with this powerful bookmarking tool each user's filing cabinet helps to build an expansive knowledge network.
For this discovery exercise, you are asked to take a look at Del.icio.us and learn about this popular bookmarking tool.
Discovery Resources:
* Tags Help Make Libraries Del.icio.us - Library Journal, 9/15/2007
* Otter Group Del.icio.us tutorial (8 min video)
* Us.ef.ul: A beginners guide to Del.icio.us
* Several Habits of Wildly Successful Del.icio.us Users
Discovery Exercise:
1. Take a look around Del.icio.us using the QL L2.0 account that was created for this exercise. Note: In this account you will find lots of resources that have been highlighted or used throughout the course of the Learning 2.0 program.
2. Explore the site options and try clicking on a bookmark that has also been bookmarked by a lot of other users. Can you see the comments they added about this bookmark or the tags that they used to categorize this reference?
3. Create a blog post about your experience and thoughts about this tool. Can you see the potential of this tool for research assistance? Or just as an easy way to create bookmarks that can be accessed from anywhere?
OPTIONAL: If you’re up to the challenge, create a Del.icio.us account for yourself and discover how this useful bookmarking tool can replace your traditional browser bookmark list.
PS Okay, yeah, sure, we said we wouldn't post until November 5, but y'all have been such busy little catch-up bees, and I thought I'd reward you.
Thursday, November 1, 2007
checking in ...
How's everyone doing? Catching up on all the Things? Eager for more and counting the days until November 5? Here's an interesting article published by two Pratt professors:
Information professionals' attitude toward the adoption of innovations in everyday life by Debbie L. Rabina and David J. Walczyk.
When new technology is introduced, where do you fall: first on the block, among the first, just before everyone else, when everyone else does, or last on the block? I think I tend to be just before everyone else.
There will be a little surprise delivered to the registered participants over the next week or so. Keep up the good work and come back Monday for Week 6 which features my most favorite Thing of all the Things: tagging and folksonomies.
Chin up,
Hood and Hat, QL L2.0
Information professionals' attitude toward the adoption of innovations in everyday life by Debbie L. Rabina and David J. Walczyk.
When new technology is introduced, where do you fall: first on the block, among the first, just before everyone else, when everyone else does, or last on the block? I think I tend to be just before everyone else.
There will be a little surprise delivered to the registered participants over the next week or so. Keep up the good work and come back Monday for Week 6 which features my most favorite Thing of all the Things: tagging and folksonomies.
Chin up,
Hood and Hat, QL L2.0
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