Article Responses

Examining Social Software in Teacher Education
 This is article to me does a good job of presenting both the good and bad of social networking and the role it plays in education. The anecdote in the introduction of the article provides a major drawback of educators attempting to use sites like Facebook and Twitter because they are too closely associated with social networking and not so much for educational purposes. As a middle school teacher, I don't ever see myself using Facebook or Twitter or any other social networking site to communicate with my students for those very reasons. However, the article does point out the benefits of using blogs, wikis, etc. because it allows for immediate feedback to students and allows students to share ideas without having to always be face to face. I would consider using my own blog to post assignments and give feedback because I feel as though it would give me a little more control over what is posted.

Web. Library, and Teen Services 2.0:
      This was a very interesting article. I really like the idea of making content more accessible and easier to understand for all parties involved, especially the community with a special emphasis on teens. For libraries to be able to take the feedback and ideas of those that it serves, the community and teens, and use this information to develop a more efficient and enticing system is awesome. However, I am skeptical that the powers that be will actually relinquish the control that they need to to make this happen. To me that is the single biggest obstacle in having this idea come to fruition.

Emerging Technologies Changing Public Library Service Delivery Models:
     This article pretty much picks  up where the above article ends. It details the need for libraries to keep up the current technological trends in order to stay relevant with their target audiences and customers. The failure of libraries to do this puts them at risk of becoming less and less useful. I like this article because it goes more in depth about what the current Internet trends when it comes to sharing information. The article details exactly how libraries can use blogs, wikis, rss feeds, podcasts and vodcasts to serve the public. I like this because it is a break from tradition in how it serves the public, without losing site of what it serves the public.