Web 2.0: “What Is It?”
Sharon Dennis Nancy Lombardo
Objectives
Be able to define “Web 2.0” and describe its characteristics Become familiar with some Web 2.0 communications technologies (blogs, wikis, voice over IP) Discuss ways to incorporate Web 2.0 into your teaching or practice Understand future directions for “Web 2.0” Have fun!
Class Outline
Basic definitions Blogs RSS & Podcasts iGoogle Tools Wikis Skype (voice over IP) Conclusion and questions
Web 2.0 Definitions
What Is Web 2.0?
Originally coined by Tim O’Reilly of O’Reilly Publishing in 2003 Classic article: http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/oreill y/tim/news/2005/09/30/what-is-web20.html
Web 2.0 According to Wikipedia
“2nd generation Internet services that let people collaborate and share information online in previously unavailable ways” (wikipedia)
– Blogs, wikis, photo /video sharing sites, social networking sites – Online web services that share data (“mashups”)
Two Sides of Web 2.0
Two-Way Communication
– Creates conversations between people – Examples
Web Services
– Software online
Gmail Google Docs Photos overlaid on Google Earth Google custom search engine, Google calendar, etc.
– Mashups
Blogs Wikis Photo and video sharing Social networks
– Embed services
Two Sides of Web 2.0
With social media, people communicate with each other.
With web services, machines communicate by sharing data.
Web 2.0 Characteristics
The web as a platform Data as the driving force Architecture of participation (“user generated content”) The end of the software adoption cycle ("the perpetual beta") Software services catering to “niche markets” Ease of use for early adopters (no risk)
*http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_2.0
Web 2.0 Characteristics Important for Teaching and Learning
Content created by users
– Your students and colleagues
The web as platform
– Moving from desktop software to online
Student “portfolios” they keep for a lifetime online
Collaborative knowledge
– Knowledge built by you, your colleagues anywhere in the world, your students
The Contrarian’s View of Web 2.0
“Over-hyped,” another dot.com bust Means so many things as to be meaningless “Amateur hour,” “real” journalism and publishing losing out with participatory content Social networking a “fad”
Blogs
What are Blogs?
Blog = web log A web page with periodic posts in reverse chronologic order
The “Blogosphere”
Blogs began as online journals or diaries Grew rapidly in the political arena Older statistics from Techorati, Oct. 2006:
– 57 million blogs; number of blogs doubles every 23 days – 100,000 created every day – 55% are “active,” updated once every 3 months – 1.3 million posts a day
No one is counting any more!
But… are they read?
– Older statistics: – 80% or 2.2 million have no incoming links; that is, nobody reads them. (Wired, Aug. 2004). – 600,000 blogs that are read – Only about ten thousand have substantial readership.
Blog Formats
Text Photography Video Audio (podcasting)
– http://www.podcast.net/
Demo -- Blogs
NOVEL Blog Other ophthalmology blogs
Related Technologies
RSS Wiki (stayed tuned!)
RSS
Really Simple Syndication or Rich Site Summary RSS feeds or news feeds News headlines with links to full articles Formatted using an XML standard Read with news feed software
RSS – “Current Awaerness” Service
Receive table of contents from journals as they come out Receive updated PubMed searches on a particular topic
Creating Your Own News Feed
If you create a blog, you get an RSS news feed along with it for free! This is the easiest way to publish a news feed
RSS – How to read news
iGoogle
– NANOS iGoogle page: http://www.google.com/ – Username: novel@lib.med.utah.edu – Password: NANOS2008
Google Reader Demo
Uses for Blogs
For Education For Healthcare and Medicine
Educational Uses for Blogs
http://blog.lib.umn.edu/ways.html Blogs linked to specific classes
– Student authoring: discussion and debate – In response to specific assignments
Research interests or happenings in a particular field Keep in touch with current or former students, or colleagues
– E-mail notification
Faculty group newsletter
One course director’s experience
University of Pittsburgh blogs (JB McGee) Created a Course Director’s blog
– Daily interpretation and synthesis of lectures – Clarification of difficult concepts – Answers to frequently asked questions
One course director’s experience
Student reaction
– – – –
“Course material easier to understand” “Helped me study for exams” “Addressed course-related concerns The answering of questions raised by other students was given the highest value – Overall value was positive:
92% of students rated positive 88% felt strongly that the blog should be used in other courses
– Students’ comments on this survey stated the blog not only helped their studies but also fostered a closer, more personalized relationship between them and the course director.
Advantages of Educational Blogs
Written record of course activity Encourages class participation Students can “own” the space Adds to knowledge base
Disadvantages of Educational Blogs
Time consuming for instructor Students must participate for this to work
Healthcare Blogs
List of blogs and RSS feeds in many healthcare fields
http://www.medlogs.com/ http://www.medworm.com/
Starting Your Own Blog
Online service
– Blogger.com
Ask IT to install blog software
– MoveableType – WordPress
Blog Features
Features to look for when choosing blog software:
– – – – – Authors and permissions Comments Notification services Categories Customization options Templates vs. programming – Publishing options Publish from e-mail or mobile device – RSS feeds
Pros and Cons of Blog Software
Online services
– Free, easy to set up – Might give less control than you want – May be way of the future
Blog Software
– – – – Open source software Commercial software Requires help and maintenance from IT Gives more control
Blogger.com demo
Podcasts
What are podcasts?
Audio files you download and listen to on your computer or a portable music device Subscribe on a regular basis through RSS
5 Things You Need to Know
“Did You Know” #1:
You do NOT need an iPod (or any kind of device beyond a computer) to listen to or view podcasts.
5 Things You Need to Know
“Did You Know” #2:
Podcasts can be audio, video, or “enhanced” podcasts with bookmarked slide shows.
5 Things You Need to Know
“Did You Know” #3:
Software to listen to or view podcasts is FREE on both Mac and PC.
5 Things You Need to Know
“Did You Know” #4:
A lot of interesting podcast content is FREE.
5 Things You Need to Know
“Did You Know” #5:
Podcast files are downloaded, not streamed.
(So you don’t need a lot of bandwidth, just time. Download, then listen later.)
Some Additional Podcasting Myths
I don’t want to watch video on a small screen.
– Watch on your computer
It takes too much time
– Same as listening to the radio, watching TV? Great for multi-tasking – exercising, driving, housework, etc.
I have no need for it.
– Learning, entertainment
Accessing Podcasts
Listen or view any given program “Subscribe” to the program, as you would an RSS feed
– New programs are downloaded to your computer as they come out
Hardware to Access Podcasts
Your computer Digital devices to listen “on the go”
– Zune (Microsoft) ($200) – iPod family ($100 - $500) – MP3 USB player ($30)
Software To Access Podcasts
iTunes
– Free download, Mac or PC – Listen on your computer or MP3 player
Google Reader
– Subscribe to podcasts – Listen on your computer
Directly on a web page Demos
Wikis
Wiki
Collaborative web site whose content can be written and edited by anyone who has access to it Also, the Web application (software) that allows groups to set up and edit a wiki From the Hawaiian wiki wiki, swift or fast
Wiki: public or private
Fully public – anyone can edit Fully private – access can be restricted to small or large groups Hybrids – public viewing but editing is restricted on some/all sections
Famous Wikis
Wikipedia: www.wikipedia.org wikiHow: www.wikihow.com Encyclopedia of Earth: http://www.eoearth.org
Uses for Wikis
Group collaboration Virtual communities of practice Creating a body of knowledge: capturing the collective intelligence
Characteristics of Wikis
A team collaboration environment Users generate the content Web-based tools – do all work online One set of content – no more “track changes” from multiple writers Revision history (and rollback)
How is a wiki different from a blog or group?
Wiki:
– Collaborative publication, not a news posting or threaded discussion – Organizing principle: space, not time – Creates a web site over time – Not just a storage or communication space, a work space
Neuro-Ophth Wikis
Alfredo Sadun’s medical student sites
– Targeted to Patients – – – –
– “The medical students learn how to organize their thoughts, do a good deed for humanity and get a non-peer reviewed article for their residency applications. I get to send patients to a site I trust.”
Hope to incorporate these into the NOVEL Wiki and the NOVEL Patient Portal
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neuro-ophthalmologist http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Optic_nerve http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Optic_atrophy http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leber%27s_hereditary _optic_neuropathy – AND MORE!
Medical Wikis
AskDrWiki:
www.askdrwiki.com
Ganfyd medical knowledge base:
http://www.ganfyd.org/index.php?title=Main_Page
David Rothman’s List of Medical Wikis:
http://davidrothman.net/list-of-medical-wikis/
Discussion
Trustworthiness: What do you think of public wikis that open up editing to everyone?
Advantages of Wikis
Quick setup (especially free, hosted sites) Get everyone on the same page Web-based (Browser) editing Get out of your Inbox
Disadvantages of Wikis
Concern with accuracy Potential for spam and vandalism Wikis can become disorganized Some wiki software is not intuitive Limited editing tools Almost non-existent technical support Interfaces, ownership keep changing
Possible Wiki Projects
Internal documents
– Grant applications – Committee work - agendas, minutes, docs – Conference planning – Student group project space – In place of structured courseware – Policies and procedures manual – Presentation medium – Notebook to organize your thoughts
Possible Wiki Projects
External documents
– Medical textbooks – Research collaboration space – Subject encyclopedias – Community information – Any kind of knowledge base
Tools in many Wikis
WYSIWYG page editing File storage Discussion lists Photo storage Calendar Tracking tasks and milestones Search
Additional features
Email notification Revision differences Page permissions HTML tag support Commenting Spreadsheets (slow)
Wiki Software
Server Software (free, open source)
– Mediawiki: www.mediawiki.org – TWiki: http://twiki.org/ (NOVEL)
Online wiki hosting (many):
– PBWiki: www.pbwiki.com – WikiSpaces: www.wikispaces.com – SocialText: www.socialtext.com – Central Desktop: centraldesktop.com
WikiMatrix
Use it to select the best software for you:
– Wizard – Side-by-side comparison of features
Demo: WikiMatrix
www.wikimatrix.org Challenge: choose the top three characteristics that matter for your team
Demo: NOVEL Wiki
http://library.med.utah.edu/twiki/NOVEL/ Ideas for use:
– Neuro-ophthalmology Encyclopedia – NANOS Archives – Collaborative grant or paper writing – Collaborative space for NANOS members – General NOVEL information
Maintaining your wiki
Advice: Sign your colleagues up in person; 5 minutes in person is worth more than 10 nagging reminders Back it up; print it out occasionally
VoIP
Voice over IP
Voice Over IP (Skype)
VoIP: transmission of voice through the Internet Also known as IP Telephony, Internet telephony, Broadband telephony "VoIP" is pronounced voyp. Internet vagaries can impact quality
Free Voice Conferencing
Skype – http://www.skype.com
– – – – – Use Skype to chat with up to 100 people (why?) Conference call (voice) with up to 24 people Video call with one person Must register for an account Fee services:
SkypeOut – Call land lines
– From $ 0.021 per minute
SkypeIn – Land lines call your SkypeIn #
– $ 36 / year (Skype Pro)
Voicemail
Skype Demo
Note: Federal institutions may not be allowed to use Skype!
Questions?
Will you use Web 2.0 tools in your future work? What opportunities for more teaming in your work or in your classroom might be possible with these tools?
Conclusions
New software and services change rapidly Living in the “always beta” world Taking advantage of usergenerated content Tapping into new ways of doing things Keep an open mind!
Thank you!
Sharon Dennis sdennis@lib.med.utah.edu Nancy Lombardo nancyl@lib.med.utah.edu