With this Web 2.0 tool comes some concerns and issues that as educators we need to address. When users tag/categorize their information, they are doing what in the past 'expert catalogers' would have done and some people may question their ability and the accuracy of the tags. According to Laura Gordon-Mumane in, Social Bookmarking, Folksonomies, and Web 2.0 Tools (2006)Folksonomies are current and capture the rapid changes in the popular world while traditional classification schemes take longer to adapt to changing trends, languages, fads, and daily news. She goes on to discuss folksonomies as being self-moderating and inclusive. In contrast, there are those who feel that the use of controlled vocabularies is important. Without controlled vocabulary, it is argued in Mumane's article that folksonomies and tagging are imprecise, ambiguous, overly personal, and inexact.
Mumane concludes with the argument that we should utilize the knowledge created by expert catalogers and information professionals and make better, more formal, more accessible tools that make it easier to find new materials, help us locate older materials and build new data collections and online tools.
In the Library Journal article, by Rethlefsen Tags Help Make Libraries Del.icio.us (2007)Social bookmarking and tagging tools help librarians bridge the gap between the library's need to offer authoritative, well-organized information and their patron's web experience. Social bookmarking sites like del.icio.us according to Rethlefsen lets users bookmark suitable web pages for themselves and others, check out what others bookmark and organize bookmarks in one place. Web 2.0 tool of social bookmarking meets and effectively interfaces with the library!
As teachers, we look for tools to support and help us with our teaching. One such tool is Social Bookmarking. It helps us organize, store, retrieve and manage all kinds of information. Social Bookmarking empowers searching and locating of new and old resources.
'Web 2.0 tools harness the collective intelligence of the Web and, by tapping into that intelligence, make the services better and more powerful'.(L.Mumane 2007)
Social Bookmarking is one such tool!
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2 comments:
Cindy, I think Rethlefsen has got it right, that social bookmarking can act as a bridge for students and library patrons in general... and maybe all the web2.0 tools we are exploring can be described as a bridge. After all, the world is changing, and there are lots of kids out there that don't even bother looking to books for answers to their questions... if librarians can bring in these new technologies, and use them effectively, they also get the chance to point students towards valuable print resources. Win-win!
Hi Cindy: I agree that tags can be and are an issue. I know when I'm tagging something I have to think twice about how someone might find the site. I do like the list of tags used/popular tags etc that is provided and tend to stick with those to try to keep it consistent. The challenge is we all think differently about what word choices to use for tags. This could be really confusing in finding articles, sites, blogs etc.
Overly personal is how I would describe many things on the web. It is definitely a far less formal mode of learning than I am accustomed to.
Cheers Val
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