Instructor

Patrick Patterson
Web Services Librarian, SUNY Potsdam
315-267-2328

Overview

Number of Weeks/Sessions – 4
Approximate Length to complete each weeks deliverables – 5 hours

This blog will be used for this course and it it will allow us to communicate with each other over the next few weeks. It will be used as the main communication tool for the course and I will make a weekly post discussing the deliverables for each week in more detail. During the first week of the course we will create a blog that will be used to document each weeks exercises.  After the first week, I will add a link to everyone’s blog to the course blog, so they can be accessed in one convenient location.

Course Description

This course will take a look at a variety of different types of emerging technologies that have been created and developed in recent years. The focus of this course will be to look at the tools and technology that are considered to be Web 2.0/3.0 and social networking. Some of the items that will be explored during the workshop are blogs, social bookmarking and mashups.  This course will involve hands on learning giving you a chance to use and evaluate a variety of different tools that include, but not limited to RSS Feeds, Blogs, and Social Networking. It will be an opportunity to explore how the tools can be used to enhance the learning and the discovery of information within a library.

Learning Outcomes

• Evaluate emerging technologies that are considered to be Web 2.0 and how they can support the various projects that a library community is working on
• Evaluate several different types of technologies to better understand how they can support the needs of an academic library
• To learn about how we can use technology to provide improved and more efficient services to patrons
• Create a script/prototype for instructional materials to support the needs of students

Resources

A computer that has access to the internet.  During the third week, we will be creating a wireframe model or storyboard with paper and pencil.  You will need to have access to a scanner or a digital camera to take a picture of what you create, so you can share it with the rest of the people in the course.  In order to complete the mashup assignment during week four you will need to have a Google account or be willing to create one.

All of the readings for this course are available online or through electronic databases.  If you are unable to access one of the readings through the electronic databases at your institution please let me know, so I can get you a copy of it. Please see the schedule for more information about the readings.

Assessment

At the end of the class you will have created a blog that will contain a record of what we have done over the past four weeks.  Each week you will be writing a post that discusses the topic for each week and it will contain that weeks deliverables.  For example, during the second week we will be creating an account with a social bookmarking website, which you can link to from your blog post for that week.