Books, Bytes Blogs and Wikis Ray Uzwyshyn, Ph.D., MLIS Dept. of Digital and Learning Technologies UWF Libraries, Wider Rationales for UWF Libraries New Technology Strategies

Library Blog Library Wiki Library Weblog: Books and Bytes Available from Homepage, Jan 2008 Wordpress 2.26 – PHP/MYSQL Library Task Force Wiki Internal, Staff Groups, July 2008 Wikimedia – PHP/MySQL

What are Blogs and Wikis? Easily Publishable Online Representations of News or Domains of Knowledge New Tools to Navigate, Share and Interact with Information - Develop knowledgebases

Why do Weblogs and Wikis matter? Next generation web tools (evolutionary) Envision new, dynamic ways to deliver and interact with information It’s where our users (students) are Collaboration possibilities have evolved on the Web Enable opportunities for learning, communication and knowledge development

Advantages  Instant publishing to the Internet  cost little or nothing (open source)  Provide features that open interaction with others  Empowering  allow new avenues for development of thoughts, ideas and materialization of ideas  Exciting and Dangerous: instant feedback regarding our services, announcements and events

Wikis & Blogs Characterized as  Web 2.0 Information Technology Tools Participatory Media  Citizens’ Media  Disruptive Technologies To Publish on the Web

Keeps the library technologically/ culturally relevant Keep our digital information space and infrastructure up- to-date Meets the demographic of changing student/faculty needs Why are UWF Libraries exploring Weblogs and Wikis?

The Millennials (born ) Currently largest and most diverse student generation in American history 39% of total population; 36% minority Collaboration- oriented Tech-embracing Generation N Neil Howe and William Strauss, Millennial Rising, Vintage, 2000

Not trapped in TV paradigm Not interpellated in One Way Epistemic systems. Millennial expect Interaction with Information (Participatory Democracy) Millennial Have Online Democratic Expectations Neil Howe and William Strauss, Millennial Rising, Vintage, 2000

Web 2.0: User experience Information Expectations are changing –Change in the way users consume information/ emphasis on interaction –Subtle changes in technology lead to larger effects

How can you best find relevant information? 1)60% The Web In a virtual setting 2) 15% Google 3) 12% Weblogs 4) 8% Specialized Websites, Wikis 5) 2% From or in a group 6) 2% Cell, PDA, GPS (mobile to a destination) 7) 0.5% From a book/print source 8)0.3% In a classroom 9)0.15% From a teacher/professor 10) 0.15% At the library reference desk Information Seeking Among 10,000 Millennial Pew Foundation Study, % Web

Web 2.0: Interactive Web: Explosion of Commenting

75% of internet users regularly rate persons, organizations, or organizational services online Information Sharing, Frank public evaluation

Review By Peers,

Potential of Feedback (2 way communication with Users, Democratic Media, participatory epistemology, participatory democracy)

What are our patrons/students/faculty thinking?

81% of year olds regularly comment on weblogs 35% also post daily on blogs, wikis and social networking sites Information Sharing and Evaluation

Content Creation by Age

79% of internet users subscribe at least 1 blog Accessing New Information Content

Two thirds of year old internet users use RSS feeds Information Customization

Share Information

Inform

HyperLink to Deeper Web Resources

Permalink and Archive Include Archives (Searchable) Include unique URL for each post (Permalink) services.uwf.edu/l ibrary/?p=55

Save Useful Links

Subscribe

Characteristics of a Blog? 1-2/week 5-6/month Frequently Updated Posts

Relatively Pithy Entries Information Bytes Rather than ‘Sound Bites’ Death of Literacy - Birth of Digital/Visual/Information/Media Literacy

Brief Focused Announcements / Articles 2-5 Paragraphs/Entry, Brief Focused with links and images

Newer Entries Older Entries Emphasis on Current Information

Weblog Organization Chronological By Date Thematic By Category Domains of Knowledge

Sophistication/Scalability is Possible 40 th Anniversary Digital Image Archive as Reverse Engineered Weblog

Wikis

Knowledge Collaboration Tools Open Editable Versioning Historical Progression of Encyclopedia Epistemic Trajectories Paradigmatic Shift of Knowledge Production & Dissemination Shifting Models of Scholarly Production

Getting Started by Contributing

Wikis as Workgroup Collaboration/ Learning Tool Developing, Sharing, Collaborating on Documents Universe of Knowledge Specific Domains of Knowledge

Everything in A Wiki is Open Editable and Reeditable Simpler Nomenclature (little coding experience needed) Radically Open Architecture Organic Morphology

Versioning Histories Basic Definition Nuanced Knowledge Domains Authors, Revisions, Reasons, Versions Universe of Knowledge New Taxonomies of Knowledge

Interactivity Media Specificity, Disruptive Technology, Paradigm Shift New Tools Impact to Prevailing Models : Teaching, Scholarly Infrastructures, Scholarly Production Knowledge Production Uncharted Territory, Unexploited, Unexplored

Questions? Library Weblog: Books and Bytes Library Task Force Wiki Ray Uzwyshyn, Ph.D., MLIS Head, Digital and Learning Technologies UWF Libraries, UWF 40 th Anniversary Digital Image Library Project Briefing: D-Lib Sept/Oct 08: Presentation