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? This course really opened my eyes to so much. Though I already had experience with using blogs and wikis at work, I gained a better knowledge of how they could be used with our patrons and how they can foster community through participation and interaction.

2. What technology did you find most interesting for your personal use? What technology did you think would be most useful professionally? I am thrilled that we learned how to create podcasts and screencasts!!! For professional use, I still am so in love with wikis! They can be used for so many different things.

3. What surprised you during the course? In addition to the course content designed by Meredith,I learned so much from the blogs kept by my classmates. Sharing resources, lessons learned, etc., really introduced me to a wide variety of technologies and made me think of the many ways in which they can be applied.

4. What suggestions do you have for improving the learning activities (exercises, assignments, blog posts, readings, examples, etc.)? I don't know that I have any suggestions for improvement. But I do agree with Amber about the Yahoo Pipes. I think they're great, but when I was experimenting with them, there were so many options. I know that they can do so much more than what my meager attempts resulted in.

5. How did your experience using Drupal differ from your experience in Blackboard classes (or classes using other traditional course management systems)? I really enjoyed using Drupal. It's easy to use--very intuitive. I also like the layout of having a class blog rather than the discussion boards and numerous unwieldy threads to click on. I felt a lot more engaged with the course material and my other classmates.

6. Looking back, how would you sum up your experience? I highly recommend this class to everyone! Like some of my fellow classmates, I too would love to see a "part two."