LIBR 246-02
Information Technology Tools and Applications - Advanced
Topic: Web 2.0
Summer 2008 Greensheet

Ellyssa Kroski
E-mail
Phone: 802-485-2168
IM: AIM ellyssakroski

The course will take place within a social networking website specifically designed for the class using the Drupal content management software. Students will follow the instructions on the website in order to register for an account. The website will be available on May 26th and will be located at http://www.infosherpas.com/LIBR246-11

Course Description

With the advent of Web 2.0, an explosion of new social software tools has emerged enabling users to create, organize, share, and collaborate in an online space. Today’s Web users are organizing their favorite bookmarks, collaborating on shared documents, cataloging their personal collections, and sharing their information with others. This course will explore the features and functionality of Web 2.0 technologies such as blogs, wikis, RSS, social bookmarking, media sharing, tagging, folksonomies and more. We will look at how libraries are implementing these various tools as well as their potential uses.

Course Prerequisites: Prior experience and comfort with using the Web necessary.

Course Objectives

• Students will comprehend major Web 2.0 concepts and theories.
• Students will learn how to utilize major Web 2.0 technologies and will participate in their use throughout the course including creating and maintaining a blog, subscribing to RSS feeds, participating in the course social network, sharing bookmarks and social media, utilizing a course tag across multiple social software applications, participating in social networking communities, creating social search tools, communicating via IM, etc.
• Students will gain an understanding about the current and potential uses of these new and emerging Web technologies in libraries.
• Students will learn about Web 2.0 best practices and develop skills which will help them evaluate these technologies in order to make solution decisions appropriate for their library.

This course supports the following MLIS Core Competencies:

• design, query and evaluate information retrieval systems;
• understand the system of standards and methods used to control and create information structures and apply basic principles involved in the organization and representation of knowledge;
• 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.

Top of Page

Course Requirements

Elluminate
There will be one Elluminate session during the course, be sure you have access to a computer with speakers at the minimum so that you can at least hear the session. And make sure to take an Elluminate training session or have taken a tutorial. For more information, see the Student Guide at: http://ischool.sjsu.edu/software/elluminate/students/

Technology Requirements
You will need a current and fast internet connection like DSL, Cable, or FIOS. Please see the home computing environment requirements at:
http://ischool.sjsu.edu/ecommunication/homecomputing.htm

You will also need to be able to access sites like Facebook and MySpace and so must have access to a computer that doesn't block popular social networking sites.

Class Format
Each week, a technology or technologies will be discussed and demonstrated in a lecture. Students will be assigned an exercise or exercises which utilize that technology. Students will be expected to complete the assignment(s) by the next week and be prepared to share their work with the class through their blogs. They will be expected to blog weekly about the technology they are learning about and/or about its implementation in libraries, as well as to discuss challenges they discovered when working with the technology.

Topics
(Subject to change with fair notice)

• Week 1 - What is Web 2.0?
• Week 2 - Blogs & Blogging
• Week 3 - RSS & Newsreaders
• Week 4 - RSS Remixing & Start Pages
• Week 5 - Content Collaboration Tools – Wikis and Online Office Applications
• Week 6 - Social Bookmarking, Tagging, and Folksonomies
• Week 7 - Media Sharing Applications
• Week 8 - Social Networking Software
• Week 9 - Social Cataloging and Social Search – Group Projects Due
• Week 10 - Virtual Worlds

Grading & Assignments
Grading for the course will be based on participation level with the Web 2.0 tools, completion of the weekly activities as assigned, as well as the completion of assignments including:

• Participation in weekly exercises – 40%
• Weekly blogging, commenting, and participation on the class website – 35%
• Group Projects – 20%
• Scheduled group chat via IM – 5%

Group Projects
Students will divide into groups of 3 or 4 to create a prototype for an actual library service or product using Web 2.0 technology which will enhance a library program, solve a specific problem, or offer a new service. Along with the finished prototype, students will craft a brief overview (1 page) describing their new service, what it is, what type of library it is designed for, what need it fills, etc. , as well as what their role was in designing it and some takeaways from the assignment. Some suggestions for projects include, but are not limited to:

• An internal staff blog
• A staff intranet using a wiki
• A video tour of a library hosted on a video-sharing website
• An instructional webcast hosted on a video-sharing website
• A library vlog embedded into a library website or blog
• A library building or service in Second Life
• An historical photo collection on a photo sharing website
• A teen social network

Textbooks and Readings

Required Textbook:

• Kroski, E. (2008). Web 2.0 for Librarians and Information Professionals. Neal-Schuman. Available through Amazon: 1555706142.

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.