Summing up my time exploring Web 2.0 tools

I came into this task with relatively no working knowledge of Web 2.0 tools. I'd banished them to the dark corners of my mind where Facebook languishes dank and unused. I thought that there would be no real change in how I perceived them.

Wrong I was. It is important to know about them. What a knowledge-expanding assignment to have done! I am cranky with myself for not having gotten right into it from the very start. Once I'd gained some momentum I actually really enjoyed it and looked forward to each weeks new tool(s). It has truly been a collaborative assignment with lots of to and fro with my buddies. I've enjoyed reading the blogs of my buddies very much - Bev, Emily, Kathrine and Liz. Each one is different, and from each one I've learnt something, thought about something in a new way or just been inspired to get started on my own exploration of a Web 2.0 tool. I've benefited from their feedback on my posts and felt supported and encouraged. We all have different backgrounds and different ways of approaching Web 2.0 tools. This has been a good awakening to the fact that we all have specific personal information needs and what might work for one person will not be so convenient for the next.

Above is my Chrome browser homepage. I've included the screen grab because for me it shows quite clearly and simply how much learning about Web 2.0 tools has changed my perspective on them and more importantly, my use of them.

There are four new additions - Feedly, diigo, TweetDeck and of course Blogger.
All added, used, appreciated and enjoyed because of this Document Mangement 1 task. Emily said in her 'Update on Learning Goals' post that she thought it would be about headers, footers, paragraphs etc. Me too!

To hark back to my learning goals, which have been -

• to increase my knowledge of, and experience in using, Web 2.0 tools so that I am able to use them competently and effectively 

I think that of all of my goals I've been most successful with this one. I have learnt a great deal in these last 6 weeks. I have been able to use these Web 2.0 tools in a way that has allowed me to communicate, collaborate and create. I have learnt that it is needed and well worth it to dedicate some time to start to use new Web 2.0 tool. Too often in the past I have installed/downloaded a tool (Google Reader for example) to not take a bit of extra time to fully understand its functions and uses. I don't use it and I forget about it. I will certainly be spending more time in the future giving my self a few hours with a new tool before I dismiss it as being along the lines of Facebook in its worth to me. 

I will still keep using these tools because I have a way to go before I am totally competent in their use. But, in saying that, I can use the tools I've explored with ease and can communicate effectively with them.  

• to explore if/how this blog and other Web 2.0 tools (ie Twitter) will allow me to collaborate, interact and communicate with my fellow buddies and classmates 

This goal has been the most enjoyable. I think that my buddies and I have been able to communicate and collaborate and to help each other out really well over the course of this assignment. We've all posted and commented on each other's blogs. We've tweeted, shared and collaborated on a Google document, replied and answered questions on each others blogs.

The effectiveness of our communication has shown me the value in Web 2.0 tools for communication.

• gain an understanding of how these tools can be utilised specifically by the library and information agency sector 

Thinking about how Web 2.0 tools can be translated into the professional environment has been an interesting process. Its made me think about my work in the Document Delivery department at Monash University and how, if at all, these tools could be utilised in my working environment. I have had some interesting discussions with work colleges and librarians about how they personally use Web 2.0 tools and which ones they use in their professional life. This has been a good way to start my thinking about how these tools can best be used in the work-a-day-world context.

I still have reservations about the public/private divide with tools such as Twitter, but have come to understand how I want to use theses tools and what parameters I need to set up to put myself at ease. 

• to gain a deeper understanding of how these tools are shaping how we communicate with one another on a global scale 

This goal is a little tricker to pin down but I feel I have gone some way to meet it, Looking at social bookmaking and beginning to understand what tagging might mean for us was a bit of a revelation. I think that Web 2.0 tools will allow us to communicate with each other in very powerful ways.

Today in Boston a bomb went off during a marathon. There is already a wikipedia page on this  and the Guardian has been using the tweets of people who where at the scene to inform and provide updates. 

Twitter and wikipedia - both being used to come to terms with a world event. Web 2.0 is definitely shaping how we communicate, collect information, and create on a global scale. 

Final thoughts - 

I'm glad to have had this experience. I've learnt a lot. I've got new Web 2.0 skills that I want to develop further and I have changed my sceptical and slightly negative attitude towards Web 2.0 tools into a much more positive accepting one of them. 

I think that this will have given me a good start in terms of thinking about these tools in an information management professional context.

The option to explore one tool in depth or to look at two tools a little more broadly has been an excellent aspect to this assignment. It allowed me, a newbie to Web 2.0, to take the time to investigate and explore a tool so I could fully understand how to use it. I found it quite daunting in the beginning but this was made easier by being able to read my buddies blogs and other students in the class to see how they approached the tasks. If I had any advice to my 6 week younger self it would be to - just get into it! 

Having four buddies was a great way to focus on the assignment and to put communication and collaboration to the test. Thanks Bev, Emily, Kathrine and Liz. 

And thanks for reading,

Ellen