So, anyway, I’ve been mulling things over in my head (because even if you’ve given yourself “time off”, you never truly check out, do you? I don’t. I feel like I’m constantly thinking about this course, obsessing even) and I thought I’d jot some thoughts down just to stop them from rattling around in my brain. Here they are then, some random thoughts, loosely related to one another, if at all (note: this will make more sense to you if you read the course syllabus first).

To start with, this is a course about technology but it’s not a course about technology. The technology is important, yes, but the focus of the course is public service and how (and why, if, etc.) social software and related technologies can play a role in providing better service to library patrons. OK, good, we’ve got that hammered down. BUT, how much do the students need to know about the actual nuts & bolts technology? I’ve never been fond of the “you don’t have to know how it works, you just need to know how to use it” school of pedagogy when it comes to the under-the-hood technology details (and it’s too easy to fall into that trap with Web 2.0 tools since they are designed to keep you out from under-the-hood!) and, anyway, these are graduate students, so I don’t think they can expect to be let off the hook that easy. Fine. But where to draw the line? For example, yes they need to know about RSS; yes, they need to have a general idea of the XML structure that makes an RSS feed do what it does; but do they need to know the initmate differences between RSS 0.90, 1.0, 2.0, atom, … etc.? That’s just one little example (when issues like these muddy the brain I find myself vacillating between “jeez, a 13-week course” and “jeez, only 13-weeks for this course!”).

So. What’s the best way to get everyone to the same level of understanding when it comes to the technologies? If this was an in-person class, I’d probably be inclined to split the students up into groups and have the groups present a “this is what it is, this is how it works” overview to the rest of the class, allowing everyone to gain a good understanding off all the technolgies and a really in-depth understanding of one of them. BUT, this is an online course. What’s the online equivalent to group presentations? (I know, I know, blogs and wikis. What else? Seriously, I’m actually wondering what else. Because I can’t very well expect a group of students to use a wiki to present their material to the rest of the class three weeks before wikis are covered in the course. Or can I?).

And speaking of wikis, what about the class blog? Or the class blogs (yes, plural). I read a lot of the comments and constructive criticism about the way various technologies were implemented for the ALA L2 bootcamp (sorry, I’m being link-lazy. But this discussion was so well blogged up that you probably know where to find the posts, don’t you? Do let me know if you don’t!) and I have to agree with those who felt that a single class blog made more sense than forcing participants to keep their own blogs (especially when some of those participants already blog in other venues). I’ve had a similar experience myself with the various continuing ed courses I teach on blogging. However, the one key difference between a continuing ed course and a grad course might be on my side here: the grade! If part of your grade rides on your blog posts, I’ll wager that students will blog wherever I tell them to! Of couse, I’m being partly facetious here because I really do want to do whatever provides the best possible learning experience and I’m honestly not sure what that is. I’m leaning towards a single class blog but I don’t know that I have a good reason why. Same goes for the class wiki. And the class del.icio.us account. You get the idea.

These are just a few of the prelim thoughts that have been sucking up brain power over the last few weeks. If you have comments/ideas about any/all of this, if you’ve tried some of these things and they failed miserably/suceeded beyond your wildest expectations – I’d love to hear about it! And I’ll probably keep going with these thought-dump posts as I work out the planning and logistics because the mere act of articulation somehow helps me get the issues straight in my mind! (That’s not too supremely selfish of me, is it?)

Proposed Course Title
Social Software and Libraries

Course Description
The term “social software” has been applied to Web-based software tools that facilitate communication, collaboration, and network/community-building. The course will explore social software applications such as weblogs, rss, wikis, and social tagging and folksonomies within the context of public services and discuss questions such as:

• does social software have a place in library service provision?
• what social software applications can be harnessed by information organizations?

While hands-on experience with social software tools will be an important component of the course, the focus will be on public service uses and implications of social software tools, rather than the technology itself.

Course Objectives
Students who take this course will:

1. gain an understanding of social software principles;
2. with hands-on experience, develop proficiency in creating and maintaining social software tools such as blogs, wikis, RSS feeds, and social tagging/folksonomy development applications;
3. examine the range of use of these tools in libraries and information organizations;
4. explore the impact of social software on library services.

Possible Topics (1-2 weeks per topic)

• week 1-2: Introduction to social software
• week 3-4: Blogs – introduction to terminology and software, hands-on, case studies, content, design, usability
• weeks 5-6: RSS – technology, tools, hands-on, case studies
• weeks 7: Wikis – technology, tools, hands-on, case studies
• weeks 8-9: Social book marking, tagging & folksonomies – theory, tools, case studies
• week 10: Online social networks: theory, case studies
• weeks 11-12: Other social software tools, e.g.: Instant Messaging applications, Podcasting
• week 13-14: best practices, discussion, evaluation

You can bet you’ll be hearing more about this over the next few weeks as I continue with the research and flesh out how it will be delivered (I’m still not 100% happy with the topic/week breakdown, but I’m hoping that will fall into place as I write the content).

I’m brimming with excitement! I’ve been heartily enjoying teaching courses about social software through the Education Institute for the past two years (two years already!) and I look forward to continuing with those (if they’ll have me), but lately, I’ve found myself thinking more about the theoretics of it all, stuff that really doesn’t belong in a hands-on, professional development course. Things like social network theory, the dynamics of online social networks, and what place the library occupies within those networks. My own reading and research has led me down this path, so I relish the opportunity to flesh out these concepts and ideas in a graduate class, alongside the technical and hands-on components.

A big part of the initial excitement for me was the fact that a library school has realized the importance of including this discussion and these tools in the MLIS curriculum. How cool is that? Rock on, FIMS!