LIS 9763

Late is better than never, I hope! My responses to the questions laid out last week are as follows:
 
1. Has your view of social software changed since starting this course? If so, how?

Having taken this course, I have become more informed and more inclined to advocate on behalf of using social software in libraries. In most cases, it is inexpensive/ free, user-friendly, and a great way to reach and assist online users at present and into the future.  

2. Of all the social tools we've reviewed this term, what are your "favourite" tools for libraries and why? What would you consider to be the low-hanging fruit, i.e. the tools that could be implemented easily and with the greatest impact?

Especially for internal staff communication and research help guides, I most liked wikis and blogs. They are user-friendly, easily organized and searched, and allow people to give their feedback and insights, thus allowing for two-way communication, which is important in meeting staff and user needs. I also think that micro-blogging and social bookmarking offer libraries a great way to convey information to patrons, especially since both of these tools are increasingly generating the attention and participation of mainstream audiences.  
 
3. What social software tools (if any) do you consider to have the least potential for library service and why?

I think that where there is the need already present, any one of the social software tools we discussed could prove to be useful in a variety of ways (e.g., asking for staff or user feedback, offering virtual research help, etc.). What libraries need to avoid, however, is implementing these tools simply as a pet project with no determined goal. For instance, stagnant facebook and Myspace pages that simply state library hours and services are fairly useless. I also think that before virtual worlds like Second Life can be useful in library instruction and research help, for instance, this technology needs to improve. As it stands, a lot of computers do not have the technical requirements to run this software, and it generally tends to run slowly and crash a lot even on systems that are up to snuff.
 
4. Tell us about your personal experiences with the social software tools we’ve used & looked at this term. Which tools have worked for you, which haven’t?

I really like Google Reader. I don’t necessarily remember to check my feeds very often, but knowing that they are there gives me something to read through when I have the time. I also like delicious, not necessarily for its “social” sharing aspects, but because I can now access my favorites/ bookmarks from anywhere. I also really enjoyed setting up a ning site as part of our group project, and would like to set up a similar site in the future as part of a professional development/ networking initiative. I am also now on twitter thanks to this class, although beyond my daily updates from Perez Hilton and Martha Stuart, I have yet to fully realize its personal value. :P
 
5. How has the distance ed. experience been for you?

Generally speaking, I really liked this experience (although I wish that Western did not charge soo much in tuition for one course).  It allowed for time flexibility, and many opportunities to explore things that were of specific interest to me (e.g., academic libraries and a variety of Web 2.0 technologies and debates around their use and purpose). It was also fitting that everything we did was online since that was what we were exploring and learning about and this catered to a lot of hands-on experience.
On the down side, I have realized that I much prefer doing group work and having class discussions in a real-life environment, since I find it much easier to communicate and convey information verbally/ in-person.  Things like Meebo did help this process along, however, and I really enjoyed reading other people's blog postings each week (although I admittedly found it hard to find the time to comment).
 
6. Do you have any suggestions for improving the learning experience of this course? (e.g. readings, weekly activities, assignments, etc.) (be honest, I can take it!)

• Since the world of Web 2.0 is always rapidly changing, I would have liked a bit more recent content in some cases (e.g., articles written in the last two years). I really liked the diversity of content and readings (e.g., how-to videos, blog posts, articles, real examples, etc.). Perhaps a bit more scholarly content and research findings would have helped me understand the true impact that Web 2.0 is having on library users and the population more generally, and how people learn, research and communicate.
• I would have liked to see some sort of rubric/ marking scheme. I do not in any way think that the marking was unfair; I just like to know how marks are decided upon/ allocated for each assignment.
• I would have liked to know what our group project mark was soon after we submitted the project.  
• Though difficult to arrange since everyone has such different schedules, I would have found it easier to attend the group chats if they were at a set time each week that everyone could agree upon. That said, it was great to receive transcripts of the conversations I missed each week in my email.
• Cover podcasts, webcasts, and related technologies in some/ more detail.

7. How would you sum up your experience over the past 13 weeks?

I’ve really enjoyed this course and can now confidently say that I understand how to use a wide range of social software tools and how to apply them effectively in a library environment (which includes recognizing needs, implementation, evaluation and maintenance). Especially since these tools are easy to use and inexpensive (if not free), I think they are great things for us to engage with in job interviews, our other coursework, and in future employment positions.
 

As for the structure of the course itself, I really liked the freedom to choose what I would like to do for my final project as well as the group project, as this allowed me to build on my interests. I also appreciated the balance between hands on experience with these tools and opportunities to think about and discuss their worth based on these experiences as well as examples and classmates' insights and opinions.

Over and out.