Thing 7 - Web 2.0 tools

Finally, some Web 2.0 tools that I'm a little familiar with!

Email

I don’t “live in my inbox,” as I have never used the auto check feature. But I do regret not having accustomed myself to using folders in my email. There always seem to be emails that don’t fall neatly into the categories I made, and I may need them someday. After reading the tips on handling email, I will try again to get organized. I do only check it two to three times a day, though, and that seems sufficient.

Email has become a primary way for me to collaborate with teachers and Staff Development committee members. There just isn’t always time to meet and using email is a good way to bounce ideas around whenever they pop up. My pet peeve is people that think you live on email and try to use it to call a meeting for later that day or some other such nonsense.

Online reference

I work in a school setting, so I don’t have any firsthand experience with online reference. I see the reasoning for libraries, especially college libraries, to offer virtual reference through IM and text messaging. It does meet the kids where they’re at. It seems they are either on their cell phone or their computer. And once they’ve had a good experience with reaching a librarian and getting what they need, they will use the service again, I would think.

High school kids though seem to use texting and IMing for too many other uses that conflict with school purposes. Some examples:

My own kids would always do their homework on the computer with MSN messenger on a side channel. This would always prompt a motherly message about getting your homework done faster, better, etc. without the distraction. And the lingo! It’s like a second language that I just couldn’t keep straight. I could totally identify with the parents of the girl in the video.

A friend’s daughter claims her friends send almost 10,000 text messages a day. Being in constant communication with many people must take quite a bit of time. I’d say it’s a good bet some of this is done instead of listening in class. My own daughter gets annoyed when her boyfriend is texting others when she’s talking to him. Since when does the person you're with physically take a backseat to someone not even there?

Clearly, there are uses for these services and there’s also etiquette that should be taught and observed. I really believe, though, the pendulum is going to swing the other way when this generation carries their love affair with technology tools too far and turns again to face-to-face interaction to fill a hunger for human socialization. I am not an active user of either IM or text messaging and given the abuses I’ve seen, I don’t want to be. Instantaneous gratification in modern lives is causing other side effects that are not positive.

Web conferencing

My last experience with web conferencing a few days ago was just short of disastrous, because of the technology. We had a group of teachers in our elementary library for some training on Accelerated Reader since we went to the web version Enterprise lately. Having to wait until just beforehand to plug in a different phone (to use the speakerphone) and using a slightly older computer made for a half hour delay in starting the presentation. We never did get the computer to connect to the site right and ended up just using the printed slides and other materials in the packet sent by email. I was impressed with the presenter’s poise in working with us. She could not be sure we were on the same page as she was (literally) since she wasn’t controlling what we were seeing.

I have also participated in very smooth-running webinars where I felt I got all the information without having to travel and spend the extra time. I appreciated that. It can be difficult to avoid distractions though, when done during the school day. Web conferencing is a very nifty tool and it seems companies are making easier to set up all the time.