Week Eight/Lesson #17: Processing Words on the Web

Discovery Exercise:

1. Create a free account for yourself in either Zoho Writer or Google Docs.
2. Explore the application and its features by creating a few test documents.
3. Create a blog post about your discoveries:
4. How does the application you chose compare to word processing software you're familiar with?
5. What features did you like/dislike the most?
6. Can you think of any ways the application you chose would be useful to you or to EKU students?
7. Optional: If you're up for the challenge, try writing your blog entry in ZW or GD and then using the "publish" feature to post it to your blog.

As you can see from the list above, the Discovery Exercise for Lesson #17 instructed me to create a free account in one of two free web-based word processing programs: Zoho Writer or Google Docs. Since I already have a Google account, I chose to explore Google Docs.

Google Docs is interesting. It is fairly easy to use and incorporates most of the more commonly used features of the word processing software with which I am familiar. It is a bit "bare bones" and simplified; for instance, as far as I can tell, it seems that there are only about twelve font styles and seven font pt. sizes. Of course, I tend to use only one or two fonts consistently, and those are included. As a current student, I am relatively confident that most students also use only one or two fonts and font sizes. I think the ability to share documents with others and being able to designate those individuals as either "collaborators" (can edit the document) or as "viewers" (can only view) is interesting, and could be useful for group work/projects. Plus, Google Docs will also provide a RSS feed of document edits.

...and to complete this Discovery Exercise, I would like to point out that I typed this blog in Google Docs AND used the "publish" feature to post it to my blog.

*Just a note: after posting via the "publish" function in Google Docs, I had to rename this blog post in blogger. I named/saved/titled the Google Doc the same title I wished it to have when posted to my blog and directed Google Docs to do that (or at least I think that's what I told it!), but Google Docs still titled the posting using the first view words of the first line of the document. Oh, well.

Week Eight/Lesson #16: Intro to Web-Based Applications

The lesson for this week instructed us to browse through the blog posts on UCD Library 2 go, read bout the different applications highlighted for students by the librarians who maintain this blog, and then blog about our reactions, specifically about interesting applications or applications that our students might find useful.

All of this is definitely interesting, especially seeing posts about applications that are used by people I know and realizing that these types of applications are much more a part of our lives (read MY LIFE) than I thought.

As for which applications EKU students might find useful, I've seen students (geography students, maybe?) use Google Earth to create a better mental image of the terrain on a flat map of some far away place that they could not possibly visit. Then again, maybe they are just curious and are not using it for any educational purpose. My husband used Google Earth recently to see just how close a hotel in Colorado was to the interstate.

Google's free software pack, with its promise of some level of Norton Security Scan and Spyware Doctor Starter Edition, is intriguing, although I wonder what level of protection is provided. Also, StarOffice, zoho, Google Docs, thinkfree and other free Microsoft Office alternatives might go over well with students who cannot afford the $70 Microsoft Office Pro offered through the EKU Computer Store (yes, I know it is a major discount, but still...some of these students don't have an extra $70 dollars), or those who just want to "stick it to the Microsoft man."

Any application that includes citation formatting is usually a hit with our students, especially when they are being asked to cite in several different styles across disciplines, so free Open Source software such as Zotero could be helpful.

I think the very fact that I personally know students (my sister uses a free Open Source word processing application...I can't remember which) who are using these applications says something about the benefits of being aware of such web applications if you work in higher education, whether in the library or elsewhere.

Week Seven/Lesson #15: Get your hands dirty in the wiki sandbox!

Discovery Exercise:

Once you have edited or created a page, write a short blog entry about wikis. How could we use a wiki in the library? Can you think of another use for a wiki outside the library?

Wow! I edited our wiki! Yay!

Uses in the library? Hmm...as lots of my coworkers have mentioned at the brownbags and/or in their own blogs, I think a wiki could possibly make a great library intranet.

Outside the library? I have a friend in grad school who is constantly working on group projects. Sometimes it is a presentation, sometimes it is a research paper/project. I watch her and her fellow group members struggling to communicate and share resources or other useful information via email or (worse) Blackboard. Now that I am a little more familiar with wikis and how they work, I think that a wiki would be a much better alternative to mass emails and the oh-so-clunky Blackboard. It would definitely be a great way for multiple members to edit and add to a presentation script or a term paper; plus, everyone would know when a change was made, who made it, and why the change was made. Of course, this is assuming that all individuals involved know how to use a wiki...

Week Seven/Lesson #14: Gettin' Wiki with it!

Discovery exercise:

Use some of these wikis to see how this flexible tool is being used in libraryland. Write a short blog entry about your favorite library wiki or about an application for a wiki that you might see in our own library.

All the wikis seem pretty neat, so I don't think I have a favorite. Sure, some are more useful or more attractive than others, but over all I think the concept is a great idea.

As for an application for our library...

Much like my coworkers, I think that a wiki has great potential for a library intranet.

One more possible application...

I hate to bring these terms up, but...when the time comes again, could strategic planning committees in our library and in other areas of the university make good use of a wiki? I remember when strategic planning, QEPs, objectives, goals, and the like became a big issue here...and these big issues came with lots of meetings. It seems that a wiki could lighten that burden. Sure, it would have to have some tighter rules, guidelines, and restrictions on who could create or edit content (only members of the committees, verified by EKU email?), but it's possible and could save time.

Week 6...#13..Tagging, Part 2

Discovery Exercise 1:

HA! I only have to read the article article by Thomas Vander Wal on the origin of the word “folksonomy” and the role he played in coining the term...I don't have to blog about it! Yay!

...and I've officially reached my exclamation point quota for today...

Discovery Exercise 2:

Silly me, I tried searching vespa again. The tag cloud was predictably small, and a bit odd (community colleges , japanese, public welfare, and secret service, huh?). Not very effective in this instance. Since I obviously have a one-track mind as of recent, I decided my next search would be on wasps. Vespa is Italian (I think) for wasp, and the Vespa scooter was thus named because of its likeness in shape to wasps, the buzzing, flying, stinging, insect that is ever so abundant in my office during the summer months. This tag cloud was much more interesting, and I can definitely see how it could help a student narrow down (or broaden out) to the specific information he/she seeks. For example, the tag cloud produced by searching wasps would allow a student who was looking for the insect to pinpoint that information, while also allowing a student seeking more information on the Women Airforce Service Pilots (the Freshman First Year Book, Mercury 13, includes some interesting footnotes about this group) or White Anglo Saxon Protestants to pinpoint that information.

I don't teach classes...yet. I can imagine that this would be an interesting way for students to discover and dig deeper into a topic of interest (or a topic forced upon them by an instructor).

Discovery Exercise 3:

del.icio.us could definitely be a useful tool. Personally, I spend my time at no fewer than four computers (1-3 at work, one desktop at home, one laptop at home, one desktop at my parents, and any number of computers on UK's campus). Being able to access all my favorites from any of these computers, not having that information tied to one, physical locale? Well, that seems like a great idea. Of course, while I have played with del.icio.us, I have not REALLY put it (or my use of it) to the test, yet. We'll see how things go...will I or won't I use it? Only time will tell.

For teaching a class? Well, see my comments on how it benefits me personally, and change those personal sites to class/subject related sites that I trust and frequent, often depending on the class/subject at hand. Now those sites are not tied to my laptop (which could go on the fritz or have a low battery) or the classroom computer...any computer with a connection will suffice. Plus, I can share that information with my students. My students can share sites with each other if they are working on a group project/paper. So, yeah, I guess it could be useful. Of course, I don't teach...yet.

As for how it benefits the library...if it benefits our patrons, the chances are good that it will benefit us. Granted, the idea and the way our patrons use it may not be library-specific, but why not let them know it's available and that it is an easy way that they can check all their favorite sites from any computer, home, dorm, lab, library, etc...

Discovery Exercise 4:

Checked out technorati...found my blog (had to dig just a bit)...so I'm done.

Week 6...#12...Tagging!

EXERCISE 1:

Okay, let's do this step-by-step.

1. Go to Google and type in a topic that interests you. See how many hits you retrieve.

About 10,800,000 for Vespa.

2. Do the same keyword search in eQuest and see how many hits you retrieve.

Two hits for Vespa.

3. Now search for the topic as a subject (or author if it is an author) in eQuest.

Ummm...nothing.

Google gave me lots and lots of Vespa specific hits (and I'm sure there are some not-so-relevant hits in the mix). An eQuest keyword search resulted in a grand total of two hits, while a subject search gave me nada. Of course, our library is an academic one. Maybe if I had chosen something else...anyway, now the rest of the exercise:

1. Can you see a parallel between the catalog and tagging in Web. 2.0?

Sure, there is a parallel of some sort there... although my own search was not necessarily the best example.

2. Do you think tagging is a reinvention of library cataloging? Or, do you think that tagging is a continuation of tradition of library catalogs, but an expansion of that tradition into new and exciting possibilities?

I am not really sure. I can definitely see how tagging is useful/helpful/necessary, but I am not entirely sure whether I would consider it to be a reinvention or expansion of traditional library cataloguing. I'm leaning towards an expansion...or maybe neither...

3. Or, do you see another angle to tagging?

I have no idea.

EXERCISE 2:

1. Review the tags in your blog, in Flickr and in Library Thing. Think about the terms you have used.

I have not made good use of tagging in any of these venues; in fact, I have not tagged ANY of my blog entries!

Having learned a little more about tagging, consider changing your tags to make them more searchable.

Yep. I should definitely do that.

You may even want to add more tags. For instance, in case you haven’t noticed, Flickr allows up to 75 tags per photo. Please don’t be like the cataloger writing these words who learned that in traditional cataloging 1 to 3 subject headings are enough.

Again, I should do that.

Go wild with your tags if you want to.

Woot!

Add a few words to your blog about the joys of tagging.

Geez. I don't know yet. Tagging is GREAT! Okay, it is obvious that I have never truly catalogued anything in my whole life, and, if you go to my LibraryThing shelf, you can see the wonders of my tagging. I'm still out on all of this; I can see how it's useful and necessary, but I don't know what else to write. I absolutely understand that it would be hard to find the stuff I want if it had no tags. Additionally, I'm sure we are all familiar with how the language of the patron often differs from that of controlled vocabularies; often, our patrons do not use the same terms that our controlled vocabulary dictates, so user-based tagging would definitely be neat and/or helpful in some instances. Then, on the other side, willy-nilly tagging across the board could lead to some wild times. So tagging vs. controlled vocabularies...do we like it?...do we hate it?...control/no control...bad/good...does it really have to be an either/or situation? I think the University of Pennsylvania has a very interesting idea with their PennTags. User added content in addition to all the things we *know* and *love* about libraryland...not too shabby!

Week Five/Play Week: #11

The second lesson of Week Five/Play Week introduced me to an interesting little thing called Rollyo. Essentially, Rollyo is a searching tool that allows you to create your own personal search engines (teehee...roll your own...) with no programming required. You just name your search, list your preferred sites to search (up to twenty-five) , and Rollyo creates a little custom search engine for you. If you have no clue what/where you would like to search, Rollyo has created a list, or "starter kit," of Searchrolls that can be personalized by adding and/or deleting sites. You can create a Searchroll just for yourself, or you can "share the wealth" and make your Searchroll public, allowing others to use and benefit from it. You can create as many Searchrolls as you like, in addition to saving and editing (and thus "claiming for your own") the Searchrolls of others.

Inspired by a shopping Searchroll, I "rolled my own" search and created a Searchroll that will allow me to search a few sites that I trust enough to purchase snowboard gear from; I thought that this Searchroll could help me find out who has what without actually visiting these sites one by one. Here...have a look. I also added my Searchroll to my blog using the "Create a Searchbox" tool, per the Optional Discovery Exercise.

Kind of nifty...or so I thought. The problem comes in when I performed a search for Burton Stow Cargo Pants, an item I picked because I know at least a couple of the sites I chose for my roll carry these pants. I got 809 hits (from the five or six sites in my search), with the first three pages being the same site/same pant. Hmm...nifty, huh? Maybe it just doesn't work so well for shopping, or maybe I need to explore a bit more. I'm not giving up, but I'm not quite sure how useful Rollyo and Searchrolls could be based on my very limited--and not so shiny--experience.

I do think that, while maybe Rollyo isn't working for me, I will show it to some of our education majors. I know one of our student workers always returns to the same few sites for lesson plans, and I think Rollyo may prove useful to her. She could create a Searchroll for just those sites she trusts, and she would not be bombarded with thousands and thousands of hits in a search engine like Google, but she would also be spared the time it would take to search each of those sites individually. Maybe she could also use it in the classroom later...who knows!