Saturday, April 11, 2009

The Wonderous Web 2.0


What is Web 2.0?
Tim O'Reily organized a conference in 2004 to discuss the options and concerns available with Web 2.0. He is widely known as the creator of the term "Web 2.0". Through Web 2.0, the users, as well as the author, can create content to be viewed by Internet users. This is unique from "Web 1.0" because no knowledge of complex HTML coding or FTP site management is neccessary. Anyone can create and participate in Web 2.0. The web, and not an external software program, is the platform. Personalized Web 2.0 accounts can be accessed from any computer at any time. Real-time communication is enabled and encouraged. Participants can immediately change the look or content of any website. This content is updated immediately upon completion. Most Web 2.0 tools are free and easy to use. There is no need to purchase any software or medium through whcih to access Web 2.0.
Blogs
What is it?
  • A blog is a shortened version of weblog and represents a website that is easily created and updated.
  • Blogs are written about just about any subject.
  • Their entries appear in reverse chronological order (newest entries on top).
  • Blogs contain reflections, ideas, conversations, links to great resources and even multimedia.
  • Blogging is a two-way street. Readers can participate in the experience by commenting on blog entries, thus creating online conversations. You are encouraged to leave comments, start conversations, and interact with others.

Where can I create my own?

Wikis
What is it?
  • A wiki is a web page that enables users to create, browse, search or modify content. It contains a body of knowledge and serve as a platform upon which a group of people can share and build ideas together.
  • Ward Cunningham was the first developer of wiki software. He was inspired by Vannevar Bush's concept of a "memex" which allowed users to "comment on and change one another's text."
  • Wiki's are most often used to create collaborative and community websites. In business, wiki's are used for intranet and knowledge management.
  • Anyone with a web browser can create a wiki on any topic they choose.
  • Wiki's favor plain-text editing which makes editing easier and more legible.
  • WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) editing is becoming increasingly available to users.
  • Content displayed during editing appears very similar to the end result.
  • A WYSIWYG interface resembles common text editing programs such as Microsoft Word.

Where can I create my own?

Podcasts
What is it?

  • Audio and video digital media files distributed over the internet using syndication feeds for playback on portable media players and personal computers.
  • The word podcast is a combination of the terms iPod and Broadcast.
  • It is distinguished from other digital media formats by its ability to be syndicated.

Where can I create my own?

  • Pod-catching requires application software that captures the podcast onto user's equipment.
  • Listening to a podcast requires a media player, such as Window Media Player.
  • These may be downloaded for free.
  • Podcasts may be downloaded to a computer and then transferred to a MP3 player.
  • Podcasts may be captured automatically with an aggregator or feed reader.

Social Bookmarking
What is it?

  • Your bookmarks are stored onine, so they are accessible and editable on any computer.
  • You can make your bookmarks public and share them with others.
  • You can also easily create a network of other people who have similar interests as you.

Where can I create my own?

Tags
What is it?

  • Tags let users mark or "tag" information such as photos or videos in order to find the information later.
  • A collection of tags is known as a folksonomy.
  • Information is organized and maintained by users
  • There are two different tag distinctions: "broad", meaning that many different users can tag a single resource and "narrow", meaning that the resource is only tagged by a few users.
  • Many websites now feature tag clouds, a display of the sites most popular tagged information. The most popular information is represented as the largest word in the cloud. Tag clouds can also serve as a form of navigation through the website.

Where can I create my own?

Widgets
What is it?

  • A portable chunk of code that can be installed and executed within any separate HTML-based web page by an end user without requireing additional compilation.
  • Often take the form of on-screen tools that draw on Internet data-bases to show the information on the user's 'widget' so a web-browser does not need to be used.
  • Widgets allow you to take the HTML code someone else has created and insert it into your own webpage/browser, so that you have a "virtual portal" between a changing database and your website. The information on your webpage will change automatically, without you needed to authorize each change.

Where can I create my own?

RSS Feeds and Feedreaders
What is it?

  • RSS stands for "Really Simply Syndication"
  • Feeds are technically similar web pages, like those that are displayed in a web browser, but written in XML. This format allows software to "read" the content and make it more flexible.
  • Aggregators let you "subscribe" to these feeds in different ways. Once you subscribe to a feed an aggregator will combine all your "feeds" and allow you to view everything you have subscribed to at once. It updates automatically and deletes material once you've read it.

Where can I create my own?

In all cases, the following set of steps will work to subscribe to a feed once you have an aggregator like Google Reader:

  1. Find the link on the page that says "Syndication", "Syndicate this site", "XML", "RSS", etc.
  2. Right-click (or press-hold in Macintosh) over that link. Your browser will show a menu of options, and one of them will be "Copy Link Location" or "Copy Shortcut". Select that option.
  3. Now go to your aggregator and find the option to Add or Subscribe to a new feed. Select it and when you are requested to type in the URL (link) of the feed, right-click (or press-hold in Macintosh) again on the field and select "Paste". This will make the URL be pasted on to the field. If right-click doesn't work, you can try with keyboard options: Ctrl+V or Shift+Insert on Windows, or Command+V on the Mac. Because you, as a user (that is nevertheless aware or interested in the technology behind this), are likely to encounter this in subtle forms. For example, you might go to one news site and see that they say they provide "RSS 0.91 Feeds". Or you might see the XML orange icon shown above. Or you might see they say just "RSS", or "RDF". You will quite possibly see mention of all of these names and acronyms when you're looking at aggregator software. RSS is the most common format by a mile. All aggregators support the most used formats, and many of them support all the formats in existence. In general, you don't really have to even know which of these formats is actually being used.

Resources

  • Bertland, Linda. "Web 2.0 in School Libraries." Resources for School Librarians. 26 Nov. 2008. <http://www.sldirectory.com/libsf/resf/web2.html>.
  • Blowers, Helene. Learning 2.O. 2006. PLCMC. 12 Apr. 2007. http://plcmclearning.blogspot.com
  • Casey, Michael, and Laura Savastinuk. Library Change. (2007 Apr) http://librarychange.com/
  • Davidson-Turley, Whitney. (2005, Nov) Blogs and Rss: Powerful Information Management Tools. Library Hi Tech News, Number 10 p. 28-29.
  • Etches-Johnson, Amanda. BlogWithout A Library. (2005 Apr) http://blogwithoutalibrary.net
  • Farkas, Meredith. Five Weeks to a Social Library. (2006 Apr) http://www.sociallibraries.com/course/
  • Google Reader https://www.google.com/accounts/ServiceLogin
  • Holvoet, Katherine. (2006) "What Is RSS and How Can Libraries Use It to Improve Patron Service?" Library Hi Tech News, Vol. 23, Issue: 8, 2006. pp. 32-33.
  • Horwath, Jenn. (2007) "Social Tools: More Than Just A Good Time?" The Canadian Journal of Library and Information Practice and Research, Vol. 23, Issue 8, p. 32-33.
  • Journal of Information Science, Volume 34, issue 4 (August 2008), p. 591-604ISSN: 0165-5515, DOI: 10.1177/0165551508092259
  • Laing, Dr. Christoper. (2007 Dec) "Using Podcasts in Higher Education." He@lth Information on the Internet, Volume 60, issue 1 p. 7-9
  • Lenhart, Amanda, Oliver Lewis, and Lee Rainie. (2007, Apr) "Teenage Life Online: The rise of the instant-message generation and the Internet’s impact on friendships and family relationships." Pew Internet. 21 June 2001. Pew/Internet http://www.pewinternet.org/pdfs/PIP_Teens_Report.pdf
  • O'Reilly, Tim. "What is Web 2.0?." O'Reilly Media. 30 Sept 2005. 26 Nov 2008 <http://www.oreilly.de/artikel/web20.html>.
  • Porter, Joshua. "Folksonomies: A User Driven Approach to Organizing Content." UIE.COM. 26 Apr 2005. 26 Nov 2008 <http://www.uie.com/articles/folksonomies>.
  • Stephens, Michael. (2006) "Web 2.0 & Libraries: Best Practices for Social Software." Library Technology Reports. 42:4.
  • Tapscott, Don. (2006) Wikinomics:How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything. New York: Portfolio.
  • Terdiman, Daniel. "Folksonomies Tap People Power." Wired. 01 Feb 2005. 26 Nov 2008 <http://www.wired.com/print/science>.
  • Warr, Wendy A. "Social software: fun and games, or business tools?" Journal of Information Science, Vol. 34: 4, August 2008. pp. 591-604.
  • Web 2.0 Wiki. http://web2tutorial.wikispaces.com/
Posted by at
Labels: ,

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)