Lib 100

Several of the remaining questions people posted on the last quiz had to do with the use of Twitter or blogging for productive or professional use. Since this is an area I do a lot of work in, I had planned to make a little video talking about it. However, since I’m fairly sure you wouldn’t want to see a video of me sick, in bed, and in my PJs, I’m posting this instead. If any of this is of particular interest to you, feel free to stop by and chat after fall break. I’m going to be madly catching up this week, but after that point I will be around if you just want to come by and chat.

Also, as far as the gradebook goes… I haven’t been able to update any grades since getting sick. I am hopeful to do so tomorrow, assuming I’m feeling this good again then. If not by tomorrow, certainly by the end of the week. And I will make sure you all have a chance to review them before submitting them to WIN.

But here’s the purpose of this discussion post: Pick any one of the following (or more, if you’re so inclined) and read the article or slideshow. Does this help you understand how to use this type of communication channel for professional uses? Do you think professional use gets in the way of personal (or vice versa)? How might you see your adaptation of these types of services over time? This is due by the end of the week.

Twitter

(This one doesn’t count… it’s background in case you want to understand Twitter better.)

Twitter in Plain English from leelefever on Vimeo.

• Twittering, Not Frittering
• Eight Ways Twitter is Useful Professionally
• Why Use Twitter (A slideshow I made a few years ago to answer that question)

Blogging

(This one doesn’t count… it’s background in case you want to understand blogs better.)

• Why Blogging Matters to Business
• I’ve only included one link here because for most business uses, blogging is a fairly mature technology. Most people agree that you have to be careful about what you blog, but that if done right can be good for business and for professionals. There are more Twitter links because it’s more controversial right now.

Other

Once reading one of the Twitter posts or the blogging one, you might be prompted to think about other social networking sites. Feel free to instead comment on any of the following:

• Facebook
• LinkedIn
• YouTube or Vimeo
• etc.

In today’s class we discussed copyright. Watch (at least the first two minutes of) this video. Notice the irony in what the artist was trying to do.

Please take a moment to comment on the irony, why copyright and/or fair use are important, or some other issue the video raised for you.

For 2 points extra credit:

1. Find a Wikipedia entry you can improve.
2. Print the page and write the date/time on it.
3. Edit Wikipedia to improve the content (you should at least add a sentence or two to make it better or more accurate).
4. Print the new version of the page and write the new date/time on it.
5. Highlight your changes.

This extra credit opportunity is due Thursday.

Have you seen these?

and

Please comment. If you aren’t sure where to begin, reflect on one of the following questions:

• How did these videos fit with your current understanding of Wikipedia?
• Does this impact your view of unrestricted online resources? How?
• What, if anything, in this video reinforces the importance of citations?
• Does the ease of updating Wikipedia compensate for the possible inaccuracies?

For three points extra credit: Create a word document and record the following:

1. A research question you might ask based on the two videos you’ve watched for the blog posts
2. Keywords related to the question
3. A link to a search in the library catalog based on these keywords
4. The title of the best on to answer your question, and a few sentences as to why it is best (”Because it was first” is not an appropriate question)
5. The call number of the book

Print this out, find the book, and bring both in for class on Tuesday, September 15th. If you have a hard time locating the book, you can ask for help at the circulation desk, where you check books out.

Take a look at this video and comment on some aspect of it. If you are not sure where to start, think about what statistic was most surprising or interesting, or what impact these changes might have on your future career or educational plans.

I’m participating in this group, and wanted to make sure you got the announcement:

Want to join a focus group? We are looking for people to volunteer to participate in a focus group to evaluate our new online catalog.

Give us 30 minutes and we’ll give you a high five…and a better catalog experience, and an opportunity to earn one point of extra credit for Lib100. Candy and treats will be available.

When: September 9, 2009 @ 1pm
Where: Room 476, ZSR
RSVP to zsrcirc@wfu.edu. (We are limiting this to the first 12 students so RSVP early.)

As we will talk about managing information and the changing information environment in class throughout the semester, please take five minutes to watch this video and comment on something of interest within it.

We will be using this blog as our primary class website. Please check back frequently for announcements, assignments, and discussion posts.