LIBR 246-13
Information Technology Tools and Applications – Advanced
Topic: Web 2.0
Spring 2012 Greensheet

Lori Bell
E-mail
Other contact information:(309)338-5115 cell
Office Hours: arranged as needed.

D2L:  Class will start January 25.  You will automatically be enrolled in D2L.

Course Description

This course is  based upon Meredith Farkas' Social software course.  Social software is rapidly changing the way we all work and play online.  Social technologies have turned the web into a participatory medium (web 2.0) where everyone can add their own creativity and knowledge to the whole.  This course is focused on developing the skills and knowledge necessary to evaluate, implement, and maintain web 2.0 technologies.  We will examine the social technologies that comprise web 2.0 and how libraries can capitalize on these tools to improve communication between the library and its patrons, build online communities, and better share information professionally.

Many social software tools are quite easy to get started with.  It takes mere minutes to create a blog or wiki and start adding content to them.  This has led many libraries to dive into these technologies without properly planning for their ongoing use and maintenance.  Blog posts must be made engaging so that people will read them.  Wikis must be made engaging so people will contribute to them.  While the tecnologies are not difficult to learn, the challenge is to make them effective, engaging, and useful in your library.

This course will focus on social software best practices, highlighting successful examples and discovering what makes them so effective.  This course will include a hands-on experience with the technologies as well as frequent reflections on how to apply what you've learned in a professional setting.  You will have the opportunity to explore social software from an academic standpoint and a practical standpoint; understanding how communities form through these tools  and how you can capitalize on them in a library setting.

Course Prerequisites: LIBR 202 required.

Course Objectives

Student Learning Outcomes

• Utilize social software tools for information collection, management, dissemination,and collaboration.
• Evaluate social software tools and specific implementations of these tools.
• Understand how communities form through the use of social software tools.
• Identify best practices for individual social software tools.
• Design concrete services using social software tools that can be implemented in libraries and information organizations and plan for their marketing and continued maintenance.

LIBR 246 supports the following MLIS Core Competencies:

• design, query and evaluate information retrieval systems;
• demonstrate proficiency in the use of current information and communication technologies, and other related technologies, as they affect the resources and uses of libraries and other types of information providing entities;
• understand the system of standards and methods used to control and create in formation structures and apply basic principles involved in the organization and representation of knowledge.

In addition, this section supports the following SLIS Core Competencies:

• Demonstrate oral and written communication skills necessary for group work, collaborations and professional level presentations;
• Apply the fundamental principles of planning, management, and marketing advocacy

Top of Page

Course Requirements

Course Format 
This course will primarily take place in D2L, but you will have the opportunity to use social software tools too.  The goal is to make the experiences of using social technologies in this course mucl like the experiences you would have using the same technologies in a library setting. 

Elluminate
There will be several Elluminate sessions during the course and perhaps more if the students would like guest speakers or additional information on a topic.  Attendance is encouraged, but not required.  Recordings will be made for those who cannot attend the live sessions.

Dates below are tentative and subject to change.

• January 31, 7 pm pacific - Overview of the course
• February 14, 7 pm pacific - Library blogging
• February 28, 7 pm pacific - Social networking software
• April 10, 7 pm pacific - Online communities
• April 17, 7 pm pacific - Videocasting
• May 7 - 13 - Final presentations on Elluminate

Technology Requirements
You will need a fast Internet connection. Please see the home computing requirements at ischool.sjsu.edu/ecommunication/homecomputing.htm.

You will also need to be able to access sites like Facebook, and Myspace and so you will need access to a network that doesn't block social networking sites.

Assignments - More information on assignments will be provided on D2L.

• Exercises - 180 points (6 at 30 points apiece)
• Marketing critique - 100 points
• Social software impact paper - 100 points
• Group project - 210 points
• Participation - 260 points
• Total points - 850

Exercises (180 points) - There will be 6 exercises worth 30 points apiece that will allow you to use the technologies you learned about that week. 

Marketing critique (100 points) - You will write a 1000-1800 word paper critiquing the effectiveness of a library's online/marketing/outreach efforts.

Social software impact paper (100 points)  - You will write a 5-7 page research paper that examines how social software has impacted some aspect of culture, life or work.  Examples of possible topics will be provided if you have trouble thinking of one.

Group project (210 points) - You will form groups of 3-5 to develop a detailed proposal for implementing a specific tool or group of tools in a specific library type or related setting.  70 points for proposal; 70 points for prototype; 70 points for presentation.

Participation (260 points) - Participation is measured based on fulfillment of your weekly expectations of blogging and commenting on your classmates' blogposts.  Each post and participation is worth 20 points a week for 13 weeks.

Course Calendar
(Subject to change with notice)

• Week 1 - January 25-29 - Overview and introductions
• Week 2- January 30 - February 5 - Social software, web 2.0, and library 2.0
• Week 3 - February 6 - 12 - Library branding and reputation monitoring
• Week 4- February 13 - 19 - Blogs, microblogs and lifestreams
• Week 5 - February 20 - February 26 - RSS
• Week 6 -February 27 - March 4 - Social networking software
• Marketing critique
• Week 7 - March 5 -March 11 - Online Marketing strategies
• Week 8 - March 12 - March 18 - Wikis and social bookmarking
• Week 9 - March 19 - March 25 - Internal collaboration
• Week 10 - March 26 - April 1 - SPRING BREAK
• Week 11 - April 2- April 8 - Collecting knowledge from users
• Week 12 - April 9 - 15 - Online communities
• Week 13 - April 16 - 22 - Video and screencasting
• Week 14 - April 23 - 29 - Social software best practices
• Week 15 - April 30 - May 6 - Social software best practices
• Week 16 - May 7 - May 13 - Final presentations in Elluminate*
• May 15 - classes end

*these will be scheduled closer to this time at times class members can make them

Course Grading
If you need to turn in an assignment late, you must make arrangements with the instructor. If not arranaged, a minimum 10 percent deduction will be taken.

Textbooks and Readings

Required Textbooks:

• Farkas, M. G. (2007). Social software in libraries: Building collaboration, communication, and community online. Information Today. Available through Amazon: 157387275X.

Grading Scale

The standard SJSU School of Information Grading Scale is utilized for all iSchool courses:

In order to provide consistent guidelines for assessment for graduate level work in the School, these terms are applied to letter grades:

• C represents Adequate work; a grade of "C" counts for credit for the course;
• B represents Good work; a grade of "B" clearly meets the standards for graduate level work;
  For core courses in the MLIS program (not MARA) — INFO 200, INFO 202, INFO 204 — the iSchool requires that students earn a B in the course. If the grade is less than B (B- or lower) after the first attempt you will be placed on administrative probation.  You must repeat the class the following semester. If -on the second attempt- you do not pass the class with a grade of B or better (not B- but B) you will be disqualified.
  
• A represents Exceptional work; a grade of "A" will be assigned for outstanding work only.

Students are advised that it is their responsibility to maintain a 3.0 Grade Point Average (GPA).

University Policies

General Expectations, Rights and Responsibilities of the Student

As members of the academic community, students accept both the rights and responsibilities incumbent upon all members of the institution. Students are encouraged to familiarize themselves with SJSU's policies and practices pertaining to the procedures to follow if and when questions or concerns about a class arises. See University Policy S90-5 at http://www.sjsu.edu/senate/docs/S90-5.pdf. More detailed information on a variety of related topics is available in the SJSU catalog at http://info.sjsu.edu/web-dbgen/catalog/departments/LIS.html. In general, it is recommended that students begin by seeking clarification or discussing concerns with their instructor. If such conversation is not possible, or if it does not serve to address the issue, it is recommended that the student contact the Department Chair as a next step.

Dropping and Adding

Students are responsible for understanding the policies and procedures about add/drop, grade forgiveness, etc. Refer to the current semester's Catalog Policies section at http://info.sjsu.edu/static/catalog/policies.html. Add/drop deadlines can be found on the current academic year calendars document on the Academic Calendars webpage at http://www.sjsu.edu/provost/services/academic_calendars/. The Late Drop Policy is available at http://www.sjsu.edu/aars/policies/latedrops/policy/. Students should be aware of the current deadlines and penalties for dropping classes.

Information about the latest changes and news is available at the Advising Hub at http://www.sjsu.edu/advising/.

Consent for Recording of Class and Public Sharing of Instructor Material

University Policy S12-7, http://www.sjsu.edu/senate/docs/S12-7.pdf, requires students to obtain instructor's permission to record the course and the following items to be included in the syllabus:

• "Common courtesy and professional behavior dictate that you notify someone when you are recording him/her. You must obtain the instructor's permission to make audio or video recordings in this class. Such permission allows the recordings to be used for your private, study purposes only. The recordings are the intellectual property of the instructor; you have not been given any rights to reproduce or distribute the material."
  • It is suggested that the syllabus include the instructor's process for granting permission, whether in writing or orally and whether for the whole semester or on a class by class basis.
  • In classes where active participation of students or guests may be on the recording, permission of those students or guests should be obtained as well.
• "Course material developed by the instructor is the intellectual property of the instructor and cannot be shared publicly without his/her approval. You may not publicly share or upload instructor generated material for this course such as exam questions, lecture notes, or homework solutions without instructor consent."

Academic integrity

Your commitment, as a student, to learning is evidenced by your enrollment at San Jose State University. The University Academic Integrity Policy F15-7 at http://www.sjsu.edu/senate/docs/F15-7.pdf requires you to be honest in all your academic course work. Faculty members are required to report all infractions to the office of Student Conduct and Ethical Development. The Student Conduct and Ethical Development website is available at http://www.sjsu.edu/studentconduct/.

Campus Policy in Compliance with the American Disabilities Act

If you need course adaptations or accommodations because of a disability, or if you need to make special arrangements in case the building must be evacuated, please make an appointment with me as soon as possible, or see me during office hours. Presidential Directive 97-03 at http://www.sjsu.edu/president/docs/directives/PD_1997-03.pdf requires that students with disabilities requesting accommodations must register with the Accessible Education Center (AEC) at http://www.sjsu.edu/aec to establish a record of their disability.

Download Adobe Acrobat Reader to access PDF files.

More accessibility resources.