LIBR 246-12: Web 2.0 and Social Networking Tools (Fall 2008)

1. How has your view of social software changed since starting the course?

I learned so much applicable information and had so many ideas that directly stemmed from the weekly readings, lectures and exercises in this class.  I learned that social software can be very useful and effective tools for libraries.  I was somewhat familiar with many of the software tools that we used, but I hadn't had a chance to actually try them out and see what they could do.  I also didn't know (before taking this class) that there were so many ways of using each tool.  Facebook and MySpace aren't just for chatting with friends, but can be used for libraries to connect with patrons.  That's just one example of the depth of some of these programs.

2. What technology did you find most interesting for your personal use? What technology did you think would be most useful professionally?

The technology that I found most interesting for my personal use is RSS.  RSS changed my life.  I know that's a bit dramatic, but it may be true.  Adding a reader, and adding RSS feeds directly into my reader now means that I don't spend tons of time clicking on my bookmarks to see which blogs have updated.  I also loved being able to manipulate RSS feeds to get exactly the information that I wanted.  Professionally I think that blogging had the most impact on me.  I was blogging before, but I had never thought of using a blog (I know others did it, but never thought of it as a possibility for me) in a professional setting.  All of the examples of libraries that use blogs really made me see how blogs can reach a wide range of people.  Since taking this class, I started a blog for the team of people that I work with.  During a recent virtual staff meeting, my colleagues reviewed my blog as a way of communicating with our teams.  I got a lot of positive feedback on it.  Another example is the blog that my group and I created for CSUDH.  They are impressed with it and I've been collaborating with the head of the library to help him make improvements on it.  I didn't know that something that I helped to create would actually be used in a professional setting.  Also, screencasting is and will be a very positive professional experience that I gleaned from this class.

3. What surprised you during the course?

I was surprised by how much I loved doing the weekly exercises!  I really, really do enjoy creating something, and working through the problems that it takes to get to the end result.

4. What suggestions do you have for improving the learning activities (exercises, assignments, blog posts, readings, examples, etc.)?

I don't really have any suggestions for improving learning activities.  I thought the readings, assignments, etc, were all very well aligned.  the one exercise that I struggled with and wasn't really able to figure out very well was the Pipes exercise.  I enjoyed playing with it, but felt like I was barely scratching the surface of what could be done.  I found some tutorials on youtube that helped me complete the assignment, but i would like to know more about what Pipes can do.  Maybe a screencast, or a brief elluminate session would help to explain some of the powerful applications of this software, and also offer some "how to" experience.

5. How did your experience using Drupal differ from your experience in Blackboard classes (or classes using other traditional course management systems)?

I can't stand Blackboard, so this was a refreshing change!  I love the blog aspect of Drupal.  Toshu made an excellent point when he mentioned that Blackboard is very instructor based and Drupal is much more student based.  The focus was on the learning and communication happening within the blog posts.  The only thing that I missed (and someone else mentioned this too) is that there is no way to check your grades on Drupal.  Also, I felt that the feedback we got on our blog posts and big assignments were very helpful, but i was often curious as to how I did on the weekly exercises.  SJSU is doing away with Blackboard and using another platform starting next semester.  I don't know what it is, but hopefully it will be an improvement.

6. Looking back, how would you sum up your experience?

This was a very, very positive experience.  Like Dan, I would be very interested in taking a web 2.0 part two, especially if it concentrated on the more technical aspects.  Also, I have to say that I really enjoyed the group project experience.  That is a first for me in terms of group projects.  I guess I've never done a group project that I found so interesting before.  It was great to be able to use the individual strengths within the group to create our prototype.

Thank you for a fabulous class and experience!