End of Course Reflective Comments

Wow, I just reviewed our Course Checklist, and I cannot believe the amount of material we covered in this class! Everything from RSS to social networks to copyright. I found this to be the most exciting class yet in the program. In additiona to the vast amount of material, the course helped me get more confident with the tech skills. I was very satisfied with the format--on-line and face-to-face meetings. And, the instructor! He was awesome.

Summer Reading

New Technologies, New Words for Merriam-Webster

In Merriam-Webster's latest edition of the Collegiate Dictionary, new words were added to reflect common and current usage in the English language. What I found interesting was the Web-related terms now added to the standard dictionary. They include: malware (software designed to interfere with a computer's normal functioning; netroots (grassroots policial activists who communicate via the Internet, especially by blogs); and webinar (live, online educational presetationd uring which particing viewers can sbumit questions and comments). The editor-at-large explained that when somone uses a word to convey a specific idea and the idea is successfully conveyed without further explanation, the word is ready to go in the dictionary. As an aside, wingnut (one who advocates extreme measures or changes) was also added. :)

Free Speech and Online Spaces

Wow, I really want to comment on my reading in Social Software in Libraries but I keep coming across these other really interesting issues related to class. For example, the Associated Press reported in an article today the fact that the first amendment (specifically free speech) and other constitutional rights are not guaranteed on the Internet. I found the article by Anick Jesdanun entitled, "Free speech not a given on "public" online spaces" on page 2A of Boulder's newspaper, The Daily Camera. See, you can rant and rave all you want in a public park without being censored. Your first amendment rights kick in there. But, rant and rave online, and the service provider can cut you off. The service provider controls content that might be controversial but otherwise legal. Hhmmmm....that means that the Web is not truly a "public space" since companies like Yahoo can prescreen, refuse or remove content. Food for thought....as the online community becomes more central to public discourse around the world, it actually remains far from a truly public doman.

Digital Ignorance

I know I should be blogging about my reading assignments, but I couldn't help commenting on the following. Frank Rich of The New York Times wrote in his Sunday, 7/6 , column: "Mr McCain is a man who aspires to lead the largest economy in the world and yet recently admitted that he doesn't know how to use a computer, the one modern tool shared by everyone from the post-industrial American work force to Middle Eastern terrorists to Pixar animation. Getting shot down over Vietnam may not be a qualification for president in 2008, but surely a rudimentary facilitary with a laptop is." (Emphasis added.) What do you think? Rich calls it "digital ignorance". I have to agree.

Bad Press and The Web

You may have already read this on my NING blog....but I'm taking it further here. Yesterday I forwarded to my 82 year old dad the web address for his local public library's blog. I viewed it and thought he might like to see it since he uses the library often. Well, surprise-surprise, he was afraid to go on the blog. Well, "afraid" might be too strong of a word. Let's say he was "concerned" because, he said, "Aren't there a lot of bad things on blogs?" To the general public, especially the older generation who aren't as nimble with the Web as we are, the Internet can be a scary, mysterious place. I've found blogs to be a great source of information, and fun too. I'm hoping I can show my dad a few places he might enjoy exploring on the Web. While he understands Web 1.0, the whole idea of an interactive community on the Web and Web 2.0 might be beyond him at this point. Unfortunately, bad press on blogs and social networks is what the general (older) public hears about. Any suggestions on what I might share with him to get his feet wet? I thought the local public library blog was a excellent place to start.

Wikis, Zoho and Other Funny Sounding Collaborative Tools

Oh, silly us! We decided to use Zoho Notebook for our webquest assignment, and what a learning experience that has been! I'm hoping that it's just a totally cool tool that takes a while to figure out. But, unfortunately, ease of use is not it's strong point so far. Our group has had to use the good ole' telephone to discuss how to use the collaborative tool. Anyone outside our group have any experience with Zoho? We'd love to know what you think about its ease of use. We've been inserting Zoho Writer into Notebook and working in that, but I have a funny feeling there's another way to work with Notebook. Generally, I've found wikis to be fun and easy. What's up with Zoho???

Blogging about School Library Blogging

I really like the blog Advocate4Libraries@blogspot.com. Any site that starts with the following quote will pull me in: "The more you read, the more you know. The more you know, the smarter you grow. The smarter you grow, the stronger your voice, when speaking your mind or making your choice." Right now, of course, the hot topic is the ALA. But there's tons of good info on this blog. Of particular interest to me was the link to "newtoolsforlibrarianship," a pbwiki that I want to spend more time exploring. Also, our book pointed out a few library blogs that I also checked out. It was cool to see how a public lilbrary uses blogs--check out my hometown's libary blogs at http://marincountyfreelibrary.blogspot.com/.

Very First Post

This is my very first post to MariaReads! I plan to read Social Software in Libraries by Meredith Farkas tonight. What part of the book did you like?