When I keyword searched for school library learning 2.0 I got more than 406 hits that displayed posts that were about schools, library and learning. When I clicked on the blogs tab, I found 21 blogs about "School Library Learning 2.0" that were blogs similar to mine (a place where people completed web 2.0 things) or devoted to exploring the relationship among school libraries, web 2.0, and education via new web 2.0 technologies that crop up frequently. Most of the 406 posts and 21 blogs were relevant to our study of web 2.0 and school libraries, whereas all the posts tagged "School Library Learning 2.0" (yet there were just three) were relevant. Overall, the advanced keyword search feature of Technorati produced a good deal of relevant results.
I checked out the top 5 blogs of Technorati and was immediately attracted to Lifehacker, tips and downloads for getting things done. It's a blog about how to utilize web "apps" applications to help you simplify your life and "get things done." I liked this post about Google web apps because it reminded me of when I discovered Google reader (see Week 4, Thing #8: It's as simple as RSS!).
An obvious advantage to tagging is that it organizes all types of information. Tagging enables authors and readers to organize their websites, blogs, online newspaper articles, and pictures with any label they desire. These self/user-imposed labels allows readers to organize information in a manner that is convenient for them, in a taxonomy written in their own language. With tagging, my Prince (the musician or The Artist Formally Known as The Artist) links will not mix with Machiavelli's The Prince links nor with my Prince William of Wales links--unless I want them to. Herein lies the disadvantage of tagging, because I am free to tag any piece of information with any label I want even if there is no clear relationship between the tag and tagged item.
Even though tags are a double-edged sword, sifting through it all is an exercise that sharpens my information finding skills.
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Week 6, Thing #13: Remedying Information Indigestion
"Thank you for the site, I can now put it on my del.icio.us!" a colleague of mine once enthused. To my yet-to-be-trained in web 2.0 ears I wondered, "Her delicious what?!"
Now I see why everyone, librarians especially, are so excited. When I browsed through SJLibraryLearning2's Del.icio.us account, I noted the various tags that were alphabetically organized to the right. After clicking on one, another window of related tags popped up. This simplifies my search for websites on related topics. I envision Del.icio.us as an easy way for librarians and teachers to set up a public index (that can be accessed anywhere) for students written in a language they understand. Since the tags are user-generated, teachers can create an account and direct students to their lists of websites grouped by topic. So if I wanted to create a list of the blogs of my favorite teen romance novels I could tag them "teen_romance" or "young_love" and not confuse my students with traditional subject headings like "Interpersonal relations--Fiction." Del.icio.us is also useful for organizing the myriad of bookmarks you already possess and the ones you continue to add daily. I will have to peruse the Del.icio.us accounts of libraries to witness how it is used in libraries and schools.
*Edit July 14, 2008*
So I explored a the Del.icio.us accounts of libraries that were posted on the CSLA School Library Learning 2.0 page for thing #13. The San Mateo Public Library's Del.icio.us page was the most useful because it organized websites according to the Dewey Decimal System. By organizing websites using the Dewey Decimal System, it was easier to imagine the ways in which information on the Internet intersects with the information found on library shelves. The Alameda County Library Del.icio.us page categorized their websites was according to topics of interest. I noticed, however, that when I visited the websites of these libraries it was not very easy to find a link of their Del.icio.us pages. I am curious to know how patrons are discovering their libraries' Del.icio.us pages and if they are being utilized.
Now I see why everyone, librarians especially, are so excited. When I browsed through SJLibraryLearning2's Del.icio.us account, I noted the various tags that were alphabetically organized to the right. After clicking on one, another window of related tags popped up. This simplifies my search for websites on related topics. I envision Del.icio.us as an easy way for librarians and teachers to set up a public index (that can be accessed anywhere) for students written in a language they understand. Since the tags are user-generated, teachers can create an account and direct students to their lists of websites grouped by topic. So if I wanted to create a list of the blogs of my favorite teen romance novels I could tag them "teen_romance" or "young_love" and not confuse my students with traditional subject headings like "Interpersonal relations--Fiction." Del.icio.us is also useful for organizing the myriad of bookmarks you already possess and the ones you continue to add daily. I will have to peruse the Del.icio.us accounts of libraries to witness how it is used in libraries and schools.
*Edit July 14, 2008*
So I explored a the Del.icio.us accounts of libraries that were posted on the CSLA School Library Learning 2.0 page for thing #13. The San Mateo Public Library's Del.icio.us page was the most useful because it organized websites according to the Dewey Decimal System. By organizing websites using the Dewey Decimal System, it was easier to imagine the ways in which information on the Internet intersects with the information found on library shelves. The Alameda County Library Del.icio.us page categorized their websites was according to topics of interest. I noticed, however, that when I visited the websites of these libraries it was not very easy to find a link of their Del.icio.us pages. I am curious to know how patrons are discovering their libraries' Del.icio.us pages and if they are being utilized.
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