of blogs and pods, of wikis and things.

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of blogs and pods,of wikis and things.
"The time has come," the Walrus said,"To talk of
many thingsOf shoes--and ships--and
sealing-wax--Of cabbages--and kings--And why
the sea is boiling hot--And whether pigs have
wings."

• Brian Gillespie
• Dublin Institute of Technology,
• with help from Pauline Rooney, Learning
  Technology Team DIT and Ronan Kennedy, Library
  NUI Galway

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What I wont be talking about

• Virtual Learning Environments
• video and teleconferencing
• E Learning Platforms
• e-Packs
• e-Journals e-books
• subject databases
• IRel
• Open-Access
• Etc etc etc etc etc etc etc

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and avoiding predictions too
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So what are we talking about??

• RSS
• Blogs
• Podcasts
• Wikis
• Social networking
• Social bookmarking
• Discussion boards
• SMS/texting http//www.usatoday.com/tech/products/
  gear/2006-08-27-campus-tech_x.htm and
  http//www.ravewireless.com/
• Games and gaming
• Download services
• Digital photo sharing Flickr
• Chat

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Points to consider

• technofantasy and technohype
• emerging, merging and invisible technology
• the real library without walls
  (Truly Madly Deeply Engaged) http//www.omd.com/l
  .c.bin/F/78784/Truly_Madly_Final_booklet.pdf
  (Teens and technology) http//www.pewinternet.org/
  pdfs/PIP_Teens_Tech_July2005web.pdf
• focus on content and material not the technology
  or platform

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Internet 2.0

• interactive, intuitive, responsive, personalised
• user generated content
• typical 2.0 site http//www.digg.com/
• software as service
• MoSoSo http//www.csmonitor.com/2007/0119/p11s02-s
  tct.html
• mobile technology/portable devices iPod, iPhone,
  Xboxes, BlackBerry Pearl, Sidekick 3, Sony
  Reader, etcenter your own favourite
• mix and mash http//www.bashr.com/

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Advantages of online collaboration

• overcomes student isolation
• convenience
• encourages participation in the learning process
• learn from others
• Educause Learning Initiative http//www.educause.e
  du/EmergingPracticesandLearningTechnologies/5673
• e-Learning Centre http//www.e-learnin
  gcentre.co.uk/eclipse/Resources/index.html
• FutureLab http//www.futurelab.org.uk/about_us/ind
  ex.htm

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Principles for good teaching and learning
practice in higher educationChickering and
Gamson (1987)

• Encourages contact between students and staff
• Develop co-operation among students and
  co-workers
• Encourages active learning
• Gives prompt feedback
• Emphasizes time on task
• Communicates high expectations
• Respects diverse talents and ways of learning
  Dr. Sarah Maguire UU _at_ ANLTC 28th June
  06

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RSS (really simple syndication)What is it and
what can it do?

• helps manage information overload
• uses technology to grab feeds as selected web
  pages are updated
• monitors new content on relevant web-sites
• websites come to you (bit like current awareness
  but on the web not email)
• e.g. RTE http//www.rte.ie/

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The need for feed readers

• allows you to group, manage and display your
  subscribed feeds.
  e.g. of feed readers
• web-based www.newsgator.com http//www.bloglines.
  com/
• download http//www.mozilla.com/firefox/
  http//www.opera.com/

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How it works5 easy steps

• choose a feed reader
• find an RSS feed youre interested in
• subscribe to the feed
• check your feed reader
• visit the updated sites

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Possible library applications

• use RSS feeds to display headlines from other
  sites on your webpages
• to keep students informed about changes in
  services, resources etc.
• help create a fresh lively look on your website
• http//www.hennepin.lib.mn.us/pub/search/RSS.cfm
  

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RSS examples

• http//news.bbc.co.uk/
• http//chronicle.com/help/rss.htm
• http//www.hennepin.lib.mn.us/pub/search/RSS.cfm
• http//www.ucd.ie/library/news/elec/
• http//www.archive.org/index.php

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Further reading

• http//chronicle.com/weekly/v50/i23/23a03101.htm
  
• Kelly B (2005) RSS more than just news feeds.
  New Review of Information Networking, Vol.11,
  No.2, pp.219-227

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Blogs or weblogs (online diaries)

• an ongoing live chronicle of information and
  platform for discussion
• usually populated by brief postings, starting
  with the most recent first
• often devoted to a particular subject
• usually info is archived
• http//www.ahmadinejad.ir/ as an example
• http//elgg.net/csessums/weblog as a good example
• http//sluggerotoole.com/index.php as a good
  (northern) Irish example

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Using blogs in education

• use as a log of programme progress and activities
• as a reflective journal - create and maintain a
  personal blog
• as a research log
• use to stimulate discussion, interact, brainstorm
• for prospective students http//www.clarkson.edu/
  clarkson_experience/blogs/
• http//weblogs.hcrhs.k12.nj.us/journ1/ a
  paperless course in journalism
• http//www.lawclinic.tv/ an academic video blog

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Blog warnings for librarians

• easy to create
• they have to be relevant content is king
• they have to be maintained pages need to look
  fresh and relevant
• the blog needs to have a purpose
• where are you going to put it?
• http//webjunction.org/do/DisplayContent?id767
  for more on using blogs in libraries
• http//www.higheredblogcon.com/ and more
• http//lirgroup.heanet.ie/ presentation by Josh
  Clark Diarmuid Stokes 8/12/06

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Blog examples

• http//heyjude.wordpress.com/
• http//keptup.typepad.com/academic/
• http//library2.0.alablog.org/
• http//meredith.wolfwater.com/wordpress/index.php
• http//freerangelibrarian.com/
• http//www.blogwithoutalibrary.net/ (see the
  blogging libraries wiki)
• http//ucdscience.blogspot.com/
• http//dundalkinstitute.library-blogs.net/
• http//www.irishblogs.info/
• http//www.technorati.com/ (whos saying what
  right now)

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Further reading

• Clyde L (2004) Library weblogs. Library
  Management, Vol.25 Issue 4/5, pp.183-189
• Glenn D (2006) Scholars Who Blog Chronicle of
  Higher Education
• Kennedy K (2003) Writing With Web Logs
  techLearning - provides useful tips on how to
  evaluate student blogs for assessment purposes.
• Research blogs - an annotated list of weblogs
  used by researchers and academics as a part of
  their research practice
• Fiedler S (2003) Personal webpublishing as a
  refective conversational tool for self-organized
  learning
• Burnet K (2006) Using blogger to get teachers
  started with e-learning. http//fm.schmoller.net/2
  006/05/using_blogger_t.html (check out the link
  to the podcast on blogs in education)

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Podcasting

• A digital recording of a radio broadcast or
  similar program made available on the internet
  for downloading to a personal audio player
  New Oxford American Dictionary, 2005
  
  

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How it works

• 1 or more media files organized into a series of
  connected episodes
• organized using XML code to describe the series
  and each episode
• smart clients (e.g. iTunes) access the series
  using RSS
• episodes downloaded to pc (not necessarily an
  iPod) for offline mobile viewing

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Uses in education (Podagogy)

• putting people in control of their learning.
  Prof. Roy Pea Stanford University.
• its rich, personal, mobile and widespread
• to disseminate lectures and course material
• for revision purposes
• http//www.apple.com/education/solutions/itunes_u/
  iTunes University
• http//www.ucmerced.edu/ University of
  California
• http//www.marquette.edu/ Video podcast for
  prospective students

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Podcast examples

• http//www.wku.edu/library/podcast/
• http//www.dowling.edu/library/newsblog/podcasts.a
  sp
• http//www.tcd.ie/Engineering/Courses/BAI/JS_Subje
  cts/3D1/general/podcast.php
• http//www.histories-humanities.tcd.ie/index.php
• http//www.thepersuaders.libsyn.com/
• http//www.apple.com/itunes/ iTunes

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further research

• Podcasting gold rush is on http//wired.com/news/b
  usiness/0,68950-0.html
• Podcasting after iTunes http//wired.com/news/cult
  ure/media/0,71257-.html?twwn_index_2
• MagneticTime http//www.magnetictime.com/index.htm
  

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Whats a wiki?

• a wiki is a website that allows anyone enter and
  edit, add, delete content
• it also can refer to the software itself, the
  look and feel, and the operation of such a
  website
• may include tools to allow monitoring of added
  content and areas to help resolve issues over
  content
• http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page probably
  the best known

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Using Wikis in education

• as an online space for academics, students,
  librarians to share and contribute to
• as a tool for students to take personal
  responsibility for their own learning
• to encourage student ownership, creativity and
  collaboration
• to allow students to share work and ideas and get
  feedback
• http//students.wikia.com/wiki/Penn_State student
  campus wiki

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Wikis and libraries

• for gods sake youre in college, dont cite the
  wikipedia James Wales (founder of Wikipedia)
• http//www.libsuccess.org/index.php?titleMain_Pag
  e Library success a best practice wiki
• http//libres.curtin.edu.au/libres16n1/index.htm
  Kille, A. How wikis can help manage knowledge in
  library reference services
• Frumkin, J. (2005) The wiki and the digital
  library. OCLC Systems and Services, 21 (1),
  pp.18-22. (available online google it)

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Wiki examples

• WikiNews (News Source)
• Wikitravel
• EduTech Wiki (focusing on educational
  technologies)
• WikiEd (Educational focus)
• http//www.futureofthebook.org/gamertheory/
• http//www.placeopedia.com/ good e.g. of mashup
• http//umjournalism.pbwiki.com/ the next
  generation?
• http//citizendium.org/
• http//www.scholarpedia.org/
• http//www.digitaluniverse.net/

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further research

• Lamb B (2004) Wide Open Spaces Wikis, Ready or
  Not. EDUCAUSE Review, vol. 39, no. 5
  (September/October 2004) 36-48.
• Moody G (2004) Of blogs and wikis.
• Bird A (2006) On using wiki sites with student
  groups
• Professor raises wikipedia awareness
  http//www.oudaily.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2006/06
  /20/44987c3928d54?in_archive1
• http//wikimania2006.wikimedia.org/wiki/Main_Page

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Social networks

• Bebo - launched feb 2005. As of April 2006, has
  over 22 million registered members. It is the
  440th most popular English language website, and
  the second most popular in Ireland , according to
  the Irish Independent (24th in the UK).
• MySpace - founded in July 2003. As of May 2006 it
  is the world's fourth most popular
  English-language website and the fifth most
  popular in the world , with over 86 million
  registered accounts.
• Friendster
• Classmates
• facebook
• livejournal
• Orkut
• Xuqa

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Features of social networks

• whiteboards, internal email system,
  add comments, quizzes, flash box,
  polls, photos, blogs
• http//www.myspace.com/brooklyncollegelibrary
  college library presence on myspace
• http//www.myspace.com/utlibraries
  University of Texas Libraries

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further reading

• Duffy J (2006) The MySpace Age BBC News Magazine,
  7 March 2006
• Facebook the complete biography
  http//mashable.com/2006/08/25/facebook-profile/
• MySpace Education
• Social Networking Websites Bebo, Myspace,
  Friendster etc.
• Not just for the children http//www.siliconrepubl
  ic.com/news/news.nv?storyidsingle207428

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• http//www.youtube.com/ YouTube a website
  allowing users to upload view and share
  videoclips
• uses in education as a student portfolio, as a
  reference tool, as a collaborative group area
• http//www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/new
  s/local/15065411.htm Use in online reading
  programme
• http//www.flickr.com/ Flickr a digital photo
  sharing website and web service suite. Uses as
  above
• digital entertainment service for US colleges
  http//www.ruckusnetwork.com/aboutus.php
  http//cdigix.com/
• and for art students
  http//www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk/yourgallery/
  http//www.artfaceoff.com/

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Social bookmaking sitesa way to tag (classify),
store, share and search links, books, whatever

• http//www.furl.net/ where to look for what you
  need
• http//del.icio.us/
• http//www.citeulike.org/
• http//www.librarything.com/

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The Empire strikes back

• Aquabrowser http//www.medialab.nl/
• Endeca guided navigation http//endeca.com/
• Encore (in development) http//www.iii.com/
• Watson Intellext http//www.intellext.com/
• Primo http//www.exlibrisgroup.com/primo.htm
• University of Rochester http//www.extensiblecatal
  og.info/

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Games and gaming

• http//secondlife.com/ Contact
  lbell_at_alliancelibrarysystem.com (IRL Lori
  Bell) http//www.thephoenix.com/article_ektid2
  0561.aspx http//chronicle.com/weekly/v52/i06/06a0
  3501.htm (need Chronicle HE login)
• http//swi.indiana.edu/ Arden The world of
  Shakespeare dev at Indiana University.
• http//www.rcrusoe.org/
• http//www.2kgames.com/civ4/home.htm
• http//www.peacemakergame.com/
• http//www.there.com/
• http//thesims.ea.com/us/index.html

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In conclusion

• best to have unrelenting enthusiasm tempered
  with healthy cynicism.