Tweet Time

Last week I went to dinner with my oldest son, a junior at Florida State University.  He casually mentioned that he was now following an array of credible tweets in topics of interest to him.  I was proud and yet amazed how he could be so casual with a social networking tool that I was so methodical about?  A generational gap, to be sure!  My long, mapped out, Web 2.0 journey is part of his everyday life.  But, wasn't that the point of my professional journey;  that I need to utilize new ways to reach students and patrons who easily use these tools as just another part of their life?

The next few weeks I'll move into one of the final phases of my Web 2.0 journey;  tweeting.  First, I need to locate solid information on how tweeting, or microblogging library information, is beneficial to education as a whole and libraries in particular.  Next, I want to explore a specialized education tweet called Edmodo, which is another free tool for educators.  One of the most surprising parts of my journey so far is realizing that most every Web 2.0 tool I find exciting is FREE to educators!
So, its time to tweet!

Google Wonder Wheel

My favorite new tool is Google Wonder Wheel.  Wonder Wheel is a visual search feature.  For example, search "research in libraries."  On your results page, select Wonder Wheel on the left side and view your search results in a graphic organizer which includes suggested keyword search phrases.  Wonder Wheel is both visual and  narrows/refines your search for you!  Try it out!

Review of the various social bookmarking sites

I reviewed Delicious, Digg, Stumbleupon, Diigo, and CiteULike.  My favorite was Diigo because of its team-based features such as group sticky notes and forums, and a group tag dictionary.  I also was impressed with their awesome education groups you could join. 
Possible uses of social bookmarking in libraries is obvious:  bibliographies, quick and easy subject heading links, reader's advisory/information, etc.  For education, the major use that I see is creating protable reading lists and study-guide bibliographies.  It like the fact that a social bookmarking tool emphasizes browsing over searching, so it would be easier for patrons (students and teachers) to use.