Web 2.0 Tools Overview (Library Media Class,Final Week)

This class has opened up a huge box of tools for me. Creating my own blog, photostream, and wiki have given me more confidence in my web skills . . . and has certainly increased any clout I have with my daughter and her friends! In my future library career, I will suggest the use of wikis to decrease the amount of paper used in document preparation. I would like to establish new ways to serve the library patrons, whether they are the entire public or the students at a school, depending on where I find employment. A blog would probably be my first choice for communication because of its ability to be independent of the organization's main website (leaving the main site safe from hacking). A facebook page is great way to connect with youth, so I would encourage establishing a facebook page if I am hired to work in an academic or school library, or with Youth Services in a public library.

Useful things
It was good for me to see that sites like YouTube and Flickr can be used for serious, practical goals instead of pointless entertainment, advertising, or self-aggrandizement.
Zoho will be an asset if I am developing a project and I want some sort of program but don't have the software (like project management or invoicing).
Also useful for me was learning that sites like LibraryThing and Delicious can be social networks instead of solely a file cabinet, which is how I had been using them.

Fun:
WooHoo, I'll use Hulu to watch all those episodes of The Simpsons I have missed over the past eight years without TV reception!
Establishing my blog on the first day of class was the most fun I've had in my recent classwork. It gave me a great sense of accomplishment and increased the confidence with which I approach computer work.

Regular Use:
It is difficult to say what information I will be using regularly because I'm not sure exactly what I'll be doing. Most likely when I have more time I will develop my own search engines on Rollyo in order to avoid wading through myriad useless search results. I'll maintain my blog, keeping its present content for a while as a job-hunting reference.
The whole idea of tagging presents an overwhelming number of possibilities that will take me weeks to begin to comprehend. I don't feel like I will really understand tagging until I have used it for a while; this is something I'll continue to work on.
The main advantage I see from this class is the sort of gestalt view of Web 2.0 I have gained. I know now that if I need information, support, encouragement or help with anything in my career, I can probably find it out there. I have sources and tools to help me find and organize just about anything.

Library Applications for Online Collaboration Tools (Library Media Class: Week 5, Session 2)

1. Wikis and online collaboration tools both allow for multiple people or parties to collaborate. What would be some reasons to collaborate on Google Docs, Zoho, or OpenOffice rather than a wiki?

Google Docs worked well for my son and daughter-in-law to compile their wedding guest list. They sent the list to the few of us who would have addresses, we filled in what we could, and sent the updated document back to them. Since only a few people were involved and not everyone needed all the information, the email format of Google Docs worked well.
Zoho provides more comprehensive service for document creation. It would take time to surf around Zoho and discover all they make available, but from a preliminary tour through the site, it looks like a wonderful source for creating a more formal document than, for example, a wedding guest list. It would be helpful for a project where everyone involved would need to read all the entries. By-laws updating is a particularly grueling process which could be made less painful by using Zoho as opposed to a series of long and boring meetings.

I would not use OpenOffice because the software must be downloaded and, besides the process driving me crazy, the program would not be usable on a public computer in a library where a traveling businessperson would be likely to need it.

2. Describe the benefits for libraries in using these applications.

Our local public library is under the governance of a county-sponsored Public Library Board. This type of board or a "friends of the library" group could use Zoho to update their by-laws, incorporation documents, and other items.
Google docs would be a quick and effective way for a library homework tutor to help a student who is homebound, lives in a rural area, or is without transportation before an important assignment is due. The student could send the uncompleted assignment to the HW tutor attached to an email with specific questions. The tutor could add suggestions into the document and email it back.
If all necessary software were already included on a library staff's computers, OpenOffice could be used to develop reading lists, collection development procedures, or any number of other collaborative projects.