Blog Post 4 - Web 2.0

Traditionally, cataloging has been done with a controlled vocabulary by trained professionals. Now Web 2.0 allows everyone to have their say. The obvious ramification is less precision in results when searching websites like Flickr or Delicious. However, it also gives the librarians insight into the user’s mindset. Librarians should use this trend to their advantage in their libraries. I read several articles and saw websites about libraries using social bookmarking to categorize new books that were received through websites such as Library Thing. Libraries also used websites such as delicious to communicate bookmarks that might be of use to patrons. The reality is social bookmarking is more user friendly than the library card catalog. Hopefully, there will come a day when this information can be integrated into the library card catalog to make it more accessible for users.
I also went to my delicious site, which is still very small, and then looked at the delicious sites of other users. While again precision in results is significantly less, this format was more helpful to me than subject headings would be. This format puts every possible tag that a website could possible have in one place. It makes is much easier to find a topic related to my search. I actually found that I preferred this to traditional subject headings.

Blog Post 3 - The Machine is Us/Using Us

Professor Wesch gave the name “Web 2.0…The Machine is Us/Using Us” to the video because there is a massive amount of data that is being added to the internet through Web 2.0 technologies by users. Courtney (2007) observes that Web 2.0 “is an attempt to conceptualize the dramatic changes that the web has brought to society,” (p. 1). Tim Berners-Lee, the creator the World Wide Web, disagrees with the term Web. 2.0, but he makes a relevant observation that Web 2.0 “is blogs and wikis, then that is people to people,” (as cited in Courtney, 2007, p. 3) Web 2.0 allows users to connect with each other virtually without using a publishing company to post content on the web. Individuals are tagging, labeling, and posting their own information. These individuals are organizing the web with their actions. Wesch shows a striking article near the end of the video that shows that the web or the Machine as being taught as users click on thousands of different links and web pages. Users are organizing and labeling the internet because the majority of the new content being added is being added by those individuals. As a result, individuals are all part of the internet. The Machine or the internet is made and organized by all of us, but at the same time, the internet is using the content that we post it to learn and grow. Therefore, the internet is also using us.

Blog Post 2 - Handheld devices in the library

Courtney’s word of advice on handheld devices is to invest in what your clientele uses. As a school librarian, I am very aware that children spend a lot of their time playing video games. I frequently hear conversations about Grand Theft Auto or Call of Duty 4. I would invest $3000 in buying 15 of the Nintendo DS, and additional $1000 in games for the DS, which should let me buy on average about two games per DS. They make several educational games for the Nintendo DS, just a few of these games are Spelling Challenges and More, Math Blasters in the Prime Adventure, Brain Quest, and Just in Time Translations. These could be checked out as a group by teachers and used cooperatively within the classroom. It is not a full class set, but they could be used by splitting the class into cooperative groups. In addition, they could also be used by the teacher to reinforce concepts and help reteach with the few students who are having trouble. I would also like the lead a group within the library using the gaming devices for educational purposes, perhaps before or after school for select students who are struggling or at risk. In our school, there is a Big Brother/Sister program where students from the high school come, tutor, and mentor our at risk students. These devices could also be used in that program with the supervising teacher being responsible for them in a specified area such as the library.

I would also use $2500 to purchase a set of 15 ereaders and an additional $500 to purchase ebooks. This ebook collection would be added to in subsequent years. This set would be available for checkout by teachers or administrators. These could be loaded with materials for professional development so that the teachers could use them in staff development. They could also be checked out by teachers to read a novel in class. I believe that these are important because they are becoming more and more frequent in society, and it’s important to familiarize our students with this technology. Staff at my school is required to do a review of a book throughout the year. These ereaders could also be checked out individually by teachers for a limited time to use for the book review and discussion groups. I would also like to begin a book club that could meet and use these ereaders when they do meet to discuss with the group.

I would spend $1800 purchasing a set of 10 Ipods to be checkout by staff. These could be hookup up to the teacher computer to have musical and movie downloads more readily available for classroom use. Ipods are also exceptionally popular among students, and there are educational downloads. The students could also create a podcast that the teacher could access and download to save. There are also various educational podcasts that could be stored on the Ipod for teacher use during class as a teaching tool. I would use the remaining $1200 to purchase speakers for the Ipods first and then purchase any needed material for the Ipod such as music etc.