.. and it's goodbye from him ..

Like many of those working their way through this programme I already knew a little of what I was introduced to, but not a great deal. It has been a steep learning curve, but an enjoyable one, and has made me think of just how these individual tools might be used profitably in our college context. I also think that even if librarians decide not to implement most of the 'things' they should, at the very least, be aware of what is out there. I've enjoyed reading how other libraries in Oxford have adapted the technology to fit with their users, the story of successes, and of those things that haven't taken off.

I've found pretty much found all of the course was absorbing. ThinkOffice fell a bit flat, and LinkedIn was straightforward networking, but otherwise I thought the programme was very good. Ease of use and greater familiarity will come with practice. Thanks!

del.icio.us bookmarks

Again, not difficult to do once you get the hang of it. The exercise shows that it is possible to link all manner of updating tools, and display the end result on a feed reader. The reader content can be adjusted to provide the information you want to keep track of, from gadgets lifted from a collection, to individually engineered ones which keep track of your bookmarks. Portable, personalised information gathering.

Blogger gadgets

Very easy to add and configure, the danger is you get carried away (with over 1,500gadgets on offer. Ye Gods) and the blog starts to look messy. I couldn't resist the fish though. Very contemplative ..

ThinkOffice

I liked the extra features on this - superscript, subscript, saving as a pdf file - (I have yet to work out what a phonetic guide does!) but then the shine was taken off things with the wait at a busy time for the application to carry out commands. This becomes a real irritation ...

Google docs

Useful for group viewing and discussion of a proposed document, with the option of viewing and/or editing. Saves a sackful of email!

Wikipedia

My search was for ECT or Electro-convulsive therapy, and I was pleasantly surprised at the range of cross-references listed for the acronym. ECT has been a controversial therapy, and yet the discussion of the edits was always about how to be more exact with detail - the level of current used, for instance, and the removal of fictional portrayal in films where the treatment was something else. The references are invaluable, and because their range is often idiosycratic they point in directions more traditional encyclopedias don't cover. I was fascinated to learn, for instance, that Chinese children had been given ECT to break addiction to online gaming.

Wikis: an exploration

Very interesting to see the variety of uses that Web 2.0 tools are being put to use in the Oxford examples, all centred round the central issues of how best to communicate with service users in a relevant and engaging way. I like the video and audio induction tours that the Social Science library provides, and am getting more of a feeling of what has worked, and what was not succesful. Del.ico.us for subject bookmarking seems solid, and we are already using Library thing here at St. Hugh's to display new accessions on our Facebook page.

My first experience of Wikis was one used by the Learning Institute's Selection and Recruitment online course, which was great for extended discussions around HR issues.
Students seem a lot less willing to get involved in Wiki-type discussions on library matters.

I've added my thoughts on raising the library profile with customised searching of blogs and e-news media to the Ox23 Wiki.

Twitter and Hash 23

As part of it's grumbling service provision today I can only get to see the most recent tweets for the Hash23 crew, but it's easy to see how Twitter plays well with real-time reporting - conferences, (both virtual and actual), events, that sort of thing. And the limit on characters does focus attention on making the message short and to the point. Good for discussions around a topic too, without flooding your email inbox.

Twitter

I like the site - it's very clearly laid out, and easy to sign on and use. It'll be interesting to see the full extent of a range of applications. Signed up for a selection of librarian tweets.

Linked In

Good for professional networking and able to supply possible useful connections by profession and place. Interesting to see just who is on the College network.

Facebook

Our Facebook site allows a two-way interaction between library staff and readers. We can post real-time information and get a reaction. At the same time we are developing a sense of involvement and community - all vital if we are to gain a better understanding of user needs. The feed from Library Thing gives a colourful display of recent acquisitions, and a look at other libraries using Facebook shows how this could be further refined. I liked Queen's College separate listing of acquisitions by current and old members, for example.

I'm sure there's scope for us to mount future podcasts on our Facebook platform.

YouTube

A strong presence on YouTube from the Saied Business School. Clearly they have realised that in a very competitive market they need to show that they understand the significance of social media. The mix of video clips with links to other aspects of the school helps present a fuller and more immediate picture of the programme offered. And the results speak for themselves, with over 500,000 upload views and 45,000 channel views. Effective marketing.

Podcasts

I'd already had some experience with these courtesy of my iplayer, but hadn't seen the range of material available from the 'cast sites. Good to see that the University has cottoned on to the applicability of the concept, with PodOxford for sixth formers, and was also very interested to learn of 'enhanced' podcasts from the English Faculty. In the college context I think an introductory podcast for induction would work well, with later 'casts covering more specialist topics such as an introduction to the Rare Books room. Podcasts win out on three counts: the majority of our students are used to working with mp3 players, and working with online digital content as part of their culture. Secondly, as with the BBC iplayer, the content can be accessed at a time convenient to the individual, and at a pace that suits them. Finally of course it saves a chunk of staff time if some of the learning about the library and its resources can be passed over to the student.

Del.icio.us networks

Easy to construct, and useful to see what another trusted Delicious user has decided is important enough to bookmark. The only danger of course is that the sites and information content can expand exponentially! I liked the ability to RSS feed from a particular tag on a site