16 April 2010
Week 14 – Final thoughts
1. I began this course with trepidation. (Surprisingly, others have, too by the sounds of it!) Back in week 1, I had my own ideas about what and how social software could be used in the library – or for any information organization. Like with any course, the goal was to learn about new things and to learn new things about software I was already familiar with.
I was glad to have the opportunity to explore and analyze social software on a deeper level.
I still agree with my initial thoughts on how social media and social software can be a big part of the library. What has changed is my level of understanding of the software I was familiar with and also realizing the potential applications of social software.
2. I still love Twitter beyond most tools because it’s been a staple in my life. But I was happy to explore tools that I was less acquainted with.
Though I believe that context plays a huge part of which tools have the greatest impact, I have to say that the current software that is easily implemented and has the greatest reach is Facebook. People know how it works, and it take very little to sign up. One of the best things I discovered about using Facebook is how easy the interface is to use. Poll applications and sharing of links through Facebook offers a convergence that I was not familiar with before.
3. Once again, I would take context and audience into consideration before saying any specific tool has the least potential for library service. Different tools have functionality or interfaces that better serve specific user groups and communities involved with a library.
More importantly, technology and software are changing rapidly. Social software involves and is molded by the groups that use it. Libraries need to be on the forefront of new social software, if only to understand and anticipate changes in trend.
4. Learning to use Facebook was a revelation to me. The ease with which one could connect with just about everyone else was astounding.
Is this a good thing? Considering my issues with personal and public persona, the privacy settings on Facebook were effective on one level, but I am still wary of sharing details and pictures with everyone… But after holding out so long with Facebook, I have embraced using it. Facebook has become a way that I communicate with many people whom I have no direct contact with otherwise.
Defending Twitter has also helped me understand how much I love it. I can’t say that it’s change how I use it that much, but I certainly appreciate other’s dislike or hesitance to it.
It was wonderful to learn about mashups; these were completely new to me and took me a while to understand what their potential use was. I am determined to build an iPhone app someday that uses maps and available library books in branches. Maybe someone will beat me to it now. 
5. I must admit I was thrown off by the format for the first few weeks of the term. Having never taken a distance course, I was unsure of the flow without a scheduled class.
This turned out to be one of the most engaging forms of class I’ve taken, I don’t think it would have been nearly as effective if it hadn’t been so well organized. The pace was great, and I found the assignments an excellent way to expose newbies to new software and not-so-newbies to further analyses and applications of that software.
6. After I was able to get into the flow of things, I really appreciated the structure of this course. If I had to change anything it would be perhaps having just a little more feed back along the way just so we know we’re on the right track.
7. I LOVED taking this course. I think that it offers practical knowledge of technologies that can be applied to work environments. Having the opportunity to be hands on with the tools we’ve covered, and observing how effective these tools will play a huge role in our careers. This course has also instilled an investigative and analytical perspective on social media applications for libraries and information organizations.
Most of all, I’ve really enjoyed interacting with the class and with AEJ in this setting. If only I could take you all out for a beer at the grad club…
Tagged facebook, librarian, libraries, social media, social software, technology, Twitter, video
Chrissy Zoricic says:
A beer would be awesome. It really is too bad we can’t all get together for a end of class drink.
amanda says:
Ahh, a beer at the grad club with all you 9763-ers would have been a perfect end to a great term! If only I could come up with a social media equivalent
Thanks for this post, Lola. I’m really happy that this course has been a positive learning experience for you. I also appreciate your feedback about giving feedback more regularly. You’re absolutely right, I definitely need to be better about that. I’m going to be working on changing some stuff for the course over the summer (in prep for offering it again int he fall), so I’m going to take that into consideration and figure ways to get better at that. It could be as simple as leaving more blog comments on your blogs… (I always want to jump in and comment on every post but I’m afraid of steering the conversation to early — it’s a fine balance and I need to get better at it).
It’s been a pleasure having you in the course! Thanks for your always thoughtful and creative posts. Have a great summer and please do keep in touch!