I've been with Del.icio.us for about a year now. At first I was pretty crazy about it. I liked being able to access my bookmarks from anywhere. That was pretty sweet. I don't know how much enthusiam I can (or should) generate for bookmarks. This service is great for work or home!!! I heartily endorse this product!!! The exclaimation points aren't really doing it for me either. Maybe making the text bold? I don't know.
Tagging in Del.icio.us is kind of a quagmire. It's good they make suggestions and show how other folks are tagging the same sites. Yeah, that's good. Yeah...good.
Can you tell I'm totally calling this one in.
Maybe I've hit that "comfort level" that some couples get to, when they can just enjoy the silence. It's not awkward or strained when you don't have anything to say to one another. Just sitting there staring off or looking out the window or something. Maybe that's how it is between Del.icio.us and I. Didja ever think of that? A genuine, mutual respect and affection for one another without the need to fill the "one-on-one time" with a bunch of useless chatter. Not like what you and I are doing right now. This is just me padding out this entry. That's what this is. What Del.icio.us and I have is different and I wouldn't expect you to understand it. Unless you'd been there, and known what it was like in the beginning; having that history that we share. To me, that is what all the sacrifice and hardwork, in building a relationship, is about. The struggle, the pain, the raw emotions laid bare. [Dramatic pause] But to you, these are just words. Just words on a blog with no real context or meaning. Well I feel sorry for you. I do. I guess I can only hope that someday you'll experience even a fraction of what I have. That's the kind of success I hope for you my friend. That's the kind of happiness I hope you can find...with your online bookmarking service.
Friday, June 6, 2008
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Thing 10: Wikis
Prior to doing this thing my only experience with "wikis" was Wikipedia. My experience with Wikipedia has not been all bad nor has it been all good. When it comes to wikis it's like I have a line down the middle of my brain. I LOVE the idea of an open forum where people can go, to post opinions, ideas and information, to share with others. I run into problems when ideas and opinions become "facts" because the sheer number of people who agree with them, outnumber those who challenge them. Stephen Colbert calls it wikiality - or "a reality where, if enough people agree with a notion, it must be true".
Working here in The Library, I see many students cite Wikipedia, as well as other [more] questionable websites, in research papers. The prevalance of Wikipedia in bibliographies and works cited, I believe, is because a student's first stop, when doing research, is Google. They enter a search string and, invariably, one of the first ten hits is gonna be a Wikipedia link. This has become sort of a habit for many people. Tom Waits made a comment some years ago that "hands are like dogs", in that they always go back to what is familiar. I think this is pretty accurate in respect to how people do research online.
I don't think limiting information by format will necessarily get the results some instructors are looking for. I think teaching the students how to be descriminating researchers, and how to evaluate the quality of information and souces might be a better approach.
I can see using a wiki for working collaboratively on a best practices project at our school or as a reader's advisory. It seems really well suited for these types of things.
I added the photo below to the 23 Things... wiki:
This photo has nothing to do with anything on the 23 Things on a Stick wiki. However, it does show Prince Randian sitting upright. Which is awesome.
Working here in The Library, I see many students cite Wikipedia, as well as other [more] questionable websites, in research papers. The prevalance of Wikipedia in bibliographies and works cited, I believe, is because a student's first stop, when doing research, is Google. They enter a search string and, invariably, one of the first ten hits is gonna be a Wikipedia link. This has become sort of a habit for many people. Tom Waits made a comment some years ago that "hands are like dogs", in that they always go back to what is familiar. I think this is pretty accurate in respect to how people do research online.
I don't think limiting information by format will necessarily get the results some instructors are looking for. I think teaching the students how to be descriminating researchers, and how to evaluate the quality of information and souces might be a better approach.
I can see using a wiki for working collaboratively on a best practices project at our school or as a reader's advisory. It seems really well suited for these types of things.
I added the photo below to the 23 Things... wiki:
This photo has nothing to do with anything on the 23 Things on a Stick wiki. However, it does show Prince Randian sitting upright. Which is awesome.
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Thing 9: Online Collaboration Tools
Looking at my last post just now, I've decided I will try to keep these entries brief. If I saw a post like that last one on one of your blogs I wouldn't bother to read it. Hell, I wouldn't even skim it. I'm not being mean, I'm just being honest. It's too much. And two thirds of it doesn't even have anything to do with these 23 Things. Not that I'd know that for certain, cuz I'm not reading it anyways. I guess I'm trying to empathize with my readers. Both of you.
I really liked these collaboration tools. I prefer Google to Zoho. It just seemed easier to use. Zoho is like something Fisher-Price would put out for kids. Like Baby's-First-Blackberry or a Close-n-Play Laptop. I wish I had been familiar with Google Docs last quarter cuz it would have totally helped me out with my HLC committee. I see myself using Google Docs a lot in the future and pushing it on anyone who will listen to me.
I'd speculate that the Founding Fathers would have loved these things. Most obviously, cuz they were all rich, white guys. I don't know a rich, white guy alive today that doesn't love messing around with technology. They have all that hardware laying around their office, and a copy of GTA4 sitting in the in-box. They never do anything productive with any of it, but they do love to talk about it like they use it all the time for work related stuff. As if they have actually road tested it and pushed it to its limits. You guys don't fool me. Buncha rich white guys.
Oh, the stories I could regale you with about those guys. Maybe some other time.
I really liked these collaboration tools. I prefer Google to Zoho. It just seemed easier to use. Zoho is like something Fisher-Price would put out for kids. Like Baby's-First-Blackberry or a Close-n-Play Laptop. I wish I had been familiar with Google Docs last quarter cuz it would have totally helped me out with my HLC committee. I see myself using Google Docs a lot in the future and pushing it on anyone who will listen to me.
I'd speculate that the Founding Fathers would have loved these things. Most obviously, cuz they were all rich, white guys. I don't know a rich, white guy alive today that doesn't love messing around with technology. They have all that hardware laying around their office, and a copy of GTA4 sitting in the in-box. They never do anything productive with any of it, but they do love to talk about it like they use it all the time for work related stuff. As if they have actually road tested it and pushed it to its limits. You guys don't fool me. Buncha rich white guys.
Oh, the stories I could regale you with about those guys. Maybe some other time.
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