Reflection

Doing this assignment for IDE 611, I learned many things. First I learned about using blogging as an instructional tool to teach and learn about many different topics. I also learned more in depth about topics such as digital referencing and the internet, specifically its use in education. I was also enlightened to a vast number or topics presented by my classmates that made me see some of these topics in new lights and learn more about topics that I might not have ever learned about. I am very grateful for this experience.

Dangers of using the internet

The internet is a very good resource to do alot of things. But on the flipside there are many dangers that the internet pose. This article does a good job of summerizing the dangers that are on the internet.

Examining the Potential Dangers of Internet Use

Online Education

With the growth of the internet as a way to get an education has increased. The fasted growing educational trend right now is online degrees through virtual schools. A virtual school is an institution that teaches courses either entirely or primarily through online methods. Even though there are tens of thousands of commercial and non-accredited classes online, virtual schools are generally accredited schools that teach a full-time or nearly full-time courses that lead to a degree. Many Universities offer online programs and there are special schools like the University of Phoenix that specialize in virtual education.

Here are two articles that discuss online education.
The Sound of One Hand Clicking

Study: Online Education Continues Its Meteoric Growth

Email and Education

Communication between teachers and students is very important in the educational process. There are many ways for educators to communicate with their students using Internet communication tools. The most popular method of communication by Internet is email. According the Pew Research Center, 94% of adults use the Internet for email. Students and educators can use email to communicate, share files and receive responses quickly and efficiently. According to the Department of Education, the use of email in the classroom allows students to "use language to understand, develop and communicate ideas and information and interact with one another while learning about other cultures".

Email in education provides for many things. It provides greater access to student. It gives voice to more reserved students. At times it can encourage thoughtful responses. It can encourage collaboration among students and non-students. Also email can create a virtual paper trail.

Almost all colleges and universities use email as their primary source of communication with the university’s students, faculty and staff Syracuse University is one of them. Syracuse University gives each registered student and active faculty and staff member an official Syracuse University e-mail address. All official University email communications will be sent to the assigned Syracuse address. This includes but is not limited to communications from faculty to students registered in their classes and from administrative personnel to students. The University expects that students, faculty, and staff will receive and read e-mail in a timely manner. Failure to receive and read University communications delivered to the University e-mail address in a timely manner does not absolve recipients from knowing and complying with the content of the email.

Using Internet for Educational Research

One of the ways the internet is used in education is to do research. According to a study published in the Turkish Online Journal of Educational Technology 58% of student internet users use the internet to do educational research.

The Internet is widely and readily accessible and can provide instant information on most topics, which makes it ideal for doing research. Internet Research simply means to look something up on the Web. It includes any activity where a topic is identified, and an effort is made to gather information for the purpose of further understanding of the topic. It is not the same as scientific research, which is research that follows a defined and rigorous process that could be carried out using the Internet.

Compared to the using the Internet for research, using printed materials physically limits access to information. A book has to be identified, found, and then actually obtained. On the internet, the web can be searched, and hundreds and thousands of pages can be found with some relation to the topic, within seconds. In addition, email, online discussion forums, and other things like instant messaging can provide direct access to experts and other individuals with relevant information to the topic can be used as research. However, with the internet, difficulties persist in verifying a writer's credentials and verifying the accuracy of the information obtained.

Using tools from a library can help in doing research and making sure the information comes from a reliable source. Syracuse University library offers research guides on its website (http://researchguides.library.syr.edu/) that can help students use the internet to find information relevant to the student’s topic.

The topic of the internet is very broad. So the focus of the blog will be its use in education. There are many uses of the internet for education that is discussed in other classmates blogs. Here I will be discussing using the internet for Research, E-Mail, Online schools, and the possible downfalls of using the internet for educational purposes.

The internet is a very important part in education. According to the Pew Research Institute,

• 94% of youth ages 12-17 who have Internet access say they use the Internet for school research and 78% say they believe the Internet helps them with schoolwork.
• 71% of online teens say that they used the Internet as the major source for their most recent major school project or report.
• 41% of online teens say they use email and instant messaging to contact teachers or classmates about schoolwork.
• 34% of online teens have downloaded an online study aid.
• 18% of online teens say they know of someone who has used the Internet to cheat on a paper or test.
• 58% of online teens report using Web sites that had been set up specifically for their school or for a particular class.
• 17% of online teens have created a Web page for a school project.

With these numbers it is important to understand the significance of the internet in education.

Ref: http://www.slideshare.net/rogerja/top-ten-internet-uses-in-teaching-and-learning-2

http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2001/The-Internet-and-Education/Summary-of-Findings.aspx

The Internet

For the second part of class I will be blogging about the internet, and specifically its use in education. The internet is something we all use (obviously because we are taking this class) but what is it? According to Yale University, the internet is "a worldwide system of interconnected networks and computers." It is a network of networks that consists of millions of private, public, academic, business, and government networks, of local to global scope, that are linked by a broad array of networking technologies. The Internet carries a vast range of information resources and services, such as email and the world wide web. The terms Internet and World Wide Web are often used interchangeably. However, the Internet and the World Wide Web are not one and the same. The Internet is a global data communications system. It is a hardware and software infrastructure that provides connectivity between computers. In contrast, the Web is one of the services communicated via the Internet. It is a collection of interconnected documents and other resources, linked by hyperlinks and URLs. There are many uses of the internet but I will get into that later.

Future of Digital Reference

There are mixed feelings from librarians about what the future of digital reference. According to a reference librarian from the University of Montana, some librarians feel that in general library reference will fade away, while other librarians think that it is here to stay and will evolve. The general feeling is that both digital and traditional reference services will coexist and work with each other. As technology becomes more sophisticated, libraries will use digital reference more and more. It is convenient and many users have Internet access and live in a digital world. The move toward a more digital world has become has apparent in libraries, with digital readers and music downloads. Because of this librarians will need to rely more and more on material found online rather than print sources. The problem with this is that reference librarians providing patrons with online resources will soon not be enough. One of the major requests made by reference librarians to vendors is to have the capability to scan material in print and send a PDF to the user. Also currently and in the future, academic libraries and municipal libraries alike will become part of larger consortium in which information is shared. Besides providing 24/7 service, libraries will be able to decrease their collections budgets and take advantage of special collections provided by other libraries. Soon reference librarians of the future will be able to talk to and see the digital reference users, walk around the library showing resources, and scan and send information from in print materials and online sources. The good thing is that digital referencing is still young and as technology changes, it could only improve.

Ref: http://www.webpages.uidaho.edu/~mbolin/zanin-yost.htm

Digital Reference Videos

Beside trying to explain all the ins and out of digital referencing. Here are a few videos that can explain how it works.

This is from Syracuse University library and shows using the ask a librarian chat on their website.

Here are other videos that may help.

Libraries and New Technology

I was reading a an Associated Press article on the Washington Post website about how libraries are keeping up with the technology age. The article does not talk about digital referencing but because of technology you would think that people would stay away from the library but the article states different. Here is a link Libraries Launch apps to sync with iPod generation

What are your opinions on this?

QuestionPoint

Most of the times libraries do not create their own digital reference service. They themselves use a service called QuestionPoint.

QuestionPoint is a Web-based virtual reference service and administrative tools for libraries of all sizes. QuestionPoint reference management service provides libraries with tools to interact with users in multiple ways, using both chat and email. Added to a library website, QuestionPoint gives users access to quality online reference assistance. Behind the scenes, QuestionPoint administrative functions help libraries manage all their reference transactions effectively. QuestionPoint uses a web-based chat tool with co-browsing capability, coupled with the email reference component, enable seamless integration of chat, follow up and referral, as well as one-stop reporting tools for all types of reference services. In addition, libraries may opt to participate in the 24/7 Reference Cooperative to provide live around-the-clock reference service to their community.

QuestionPoint is a collaborative project of the Library of Congress and the Online Computer Library Center (OCLC).

Ref: http://www.questionpoint.org/

Syracuse University Library Digital Reference Service

Syracuse University Library offers a digital reference service. the site is http://library.syr.edu/research/askus/index.php

The site offers many ways for a user to contact a research librarian. A user can send a text message with their question to a reference librarian and receive a message back with help.

Also available is an instant messaging program which a user can have a live conversation with a research librarian during the hours that the librarian is online.

Another option is the Ask Us 24/7 service. It is service of cooperating New York State libraries. It is available 24 hours a day and it provides live chatting with a reference librarian not necessarily from the Syracuse University library.

A reference librarian form Syracuse university as also available by phone. While it is not computer based it does provide instant chatting with a reference librarian

Finally, there is an email option in which a user can email a research librarian and receive a response within 1 business day.

Ref: http://library.syr.edu/research/askus/index.php

Ways to Use Digital Referencing

There are four popular ways of using digital reference, emails, webforms, commercial applications, and instant messenger service.

Email

Even though email is not an instantaneous way to getting the information needed, it is probably the most popular form of communication between a person seeking information and a reference librarian. It is very simple. A user emails a reference librarian seeking help finding information. The drawback with this method is that it may take up to three or four exchanges just for any progress can be made.

Webforms

Like email webforms are not an instantaneous way to getting the information needed, but it is another popular form of communication between a person seeking information and a reference librarian. Webforms are created for digital reference services in order to help the patron be more productive in asking their question and that the reference librarian gets as much information as possible. This form helps the librarian locate exactly what the patron is asking for.

Chat using commercial applications

Several libraries and reference services provide applications for providing chat-based reference. These applications bear a resemblance to commercial help desk applications and allows for synchronous communication. These applications possess many features such as: chat, co-browsing of websites, webpage and document pushing, and storage of chat transcripts.

Chat using instant messaging

Also several libraries and reference services use instant messaging services as a low-cost mean of offering chat-based reference, since most IM services are free. Utilizing IM for reference services allows a patron to contact the library from any location via computer, cell phone, Ipods, or anything else with Internet. This service is like the traditional reference interview because it is a live interaction between the patron and the librarian. On the other side the reference interview is different because the conversation does not float away but instead is in print on the screen for the librarian to review if needed to better understand the patron

Ref: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_reference_services

What is Digital Reference?

Digital reference is a service by which library reference service is conducted online. It is taking reference services usually done at a reference desk at a library to a "virtual" reference desk where the users could find information, get questions answered, and do anything else that they would do at a physical reference desk from home, work or a variety of other locations. Digital reference also can be referred to as virtual reference, digital reference, e-reference, Internet information services, live reference and real-time reference.

According to the American Library Association, digital reference contains three components:
1. Virtual reference is reference service initiated electronically, often in real-time, where patrons employ computers or other Internet technology to communicate with reference staff, without being physically present. Communication channels used frequently in virtual reference include chat, videoconferencing, Voice over IP (VoIP), co-browsing, e-mail, and instant messaging (IM).
2. While online sources are often utilized in provision of virtual reference, use of electronic sources in seeking answers is not of itself virtual reference.
3. Virtual reference queries are sometimes followed-up with telephone, fax, in-person and regular mail interactions, even though these modes of communication are not considered virtual. (http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/rusa/resources/guidelines/virtrefguidelines.cfm)