Searching with Tags: Do Tags Help Users Find Things?

This study examines the question of whether tags can be useful in the process of information retrieval. Participants searched a social bookmarking tool specialising in academic articles (CiteULike) and an online journal database (Pubmed). Participant actions were captured using screen capture software and they were asked to describe their search process. Users did make use of tags in their search process, as a guide to searching and as hyperlinks to potentially useful articles. However, users also made use of controlled vocabularies in the journal database to locate useful search terms and of links to related articles supplied by the database

Web 2.0 Technologies in Higher Education Teaching: A Practical Introduction

Web 2.0 tools are websites that are interactive, allowing users not only to read information but also to create products and interact with others. These tools offer new opportunities for designing instruction for heightened student engagement, particularly with “digital natives.” Yet often faculty are unaware of what these tools can do, are uncertain of how to use them, and leery of the time required to design instruction incorporating them. This paper is a very practical introduction to using common Web 2.0 tools including wikis, blogs, and social bookmarking sites. Sample assignments developed and used by the author or described in the literature are described. These assignments are adaptable for use in a variety of disciplines. Wikis are very useful for group work. Blogs can be used effectively for journals and independent studies. Social bookmarking can enhance organization and sharing of professional web resources. Specific tips for setting up and working with the sites are given as well as recommended resources including handouts and videos that introduce the sites. Other types of Web 2.0/social networking sites with promise for use in higher education, such as multimedia production sites, are briefly described and specific sites recommended. Faculty members are encouraged to start with one simple assignment and then expand

Classifying Web 2.0 Supported Applications By Pattern Of Usage: Functional & Technical ISSUES

The rapid evolution of Internet technologies have witnessed new Web elements, such as blogs, wikis, social networking, social bookmarking, and other related applications referred to as Web 2.0. Web 1.0 paradigm was related with passive, just receptive users, whereas Web 2.0 paradigm relies mainly on user participation and user-generated content. In Web 2.0 applications users are invited to comment, share, edit, classify, as well as remix data from multiple sources. Although there are several Web 2.0 applications in the market there is still lack of a profound approach guiding the analysis, design and development of such applications. This paper suggests classifying Web 2.0 tools by “Pattern of Usage” or in other words the functionalities that characterize their specific features. By reviewing several literatures we extracted multiple attributes related to functionalities of Web 2.0 tools. These have been crystallised into 7 patterns of usage that include; Inter-connectivity, Content authoring, Content tagging & rating, Content aggregation & syndication, Content remixing, Content streaming and File sharing. By interlinking functionality/ usage with underlying technologies, techniques and architecture we provided insight into design and technical requirements for Web 2.0 supported applications. Furthermore we broke down the patterns into basic, elementary to include Inter-connectivity, File sharing and Content remixing, and secondary, supportive to include the other four patterns. This would provide the technical core for any development methodology targeted at Web 2.0 applications

User modeling for exploratory search on the Social Web. Exploiting social bookmarking systems for user model extraction, evaluation and integration

Exploratory search is an information seeking strategy that extends be- yond the query-and-response paradigm of traditional Information Retrieval models. Users browse through information to discover novel content and to learn more about the newly discovered things. Social bookmarking systems integrate well with exploratory search, because they allow one to search, browse, and filter social bookmarks. Our contribution is an exploratory tag search engine that merges social bookmarking with exploratory search. For this purpose, we have applied collaborative filtering to recommend tags to users. User models are an im- portant prerequisite for recommender systems. We have produced a method to algorithmically extract user models from folksonomies, and an evaluation method to measure the viability of these user models for exploratory search. According to our evaluation web-scale user modeling, which integrates user models from various services across the Social Web, can improve exploratory search. Within this thesis we also provide a method for user model integra- tion. Our exploratory tag search engine implements the findings of our user model extraction, evaluation, and integration methods. It facilitates ex- ploratory search on social bookmarks from Delicious and Connotea and pub- lishes extracted user models as Linked Data

Merging semantic and participative approaches for organising teachers' documents

International audienceCommunities of teachers need tools to gather and organise educational resources scattered over the Web. As current generic search engines are insufficient to deal with contexts, these tools must rely on human annotations. First, we compare the Semantic Web and the Participative Web (2.0) approaches to annotate resources and we argue for the need to merge them. Secondly, we propose a social bookmarking tool merging the flexibility of tags with basic inference processes attached to ontologies. Thus we define the concept of structurable tags which are tags that can be linked through relations while keeping their spontaneous, on-the-fly and aggregative properties

The Use of Online Tools by Information Professionals in Medical Libraries in Oman

Rapid development of the Internet and the emergence of a new generation of the Internet within different social software offer advantages to medical libraries in terms of their services and marketing. Medical libraries need to change the ways they provide their services based on changes in users’ needs in the digital world. The main purpose of this study is to explore the perception/attitude of information professionals in Medical libraries in Oman towards use of various online tools or so-called Web2.0. The study also intends to highlight the main challenges that prevent libraries from using these tools and applications in providing services. An online survey was used as a data collection method. Survey Monkey software was used to design the questionnaire. The survey included all medical libraries (16) in Oman. The study found that the majority of information professionals in medical libraries in Oman are aware of Web 2.0 and the majority of them use its tools within library services. The majority of information professionals reported positively regarding the use of these tools in library services. However, several challenges were identified regarding using and adopting online tools within library services. This study tried to provide a clear understanding of the ways that online tools are used and adopted by information professionals in medical libraries. It is hoped that it will make a contribution to the future development of this subject area. Keywords: Oman, Online Tools, Information Professionals, Medical Libraries, Web 2.0, Library 2.0, Librarian 2.

Diigo: social bookmarking, basic support for collaborative learning and research

La web 2.0 ha originado nuevas aplicaciones, tales como los Sistemas de Marcadores Sociales (SBS) con una marcada función socializadora, centrada no tanto en las relaciones entre los usuarios como en proporcionarles las herramientas necesarias para manejar y gestionar información que posteriormente puede ser compartida. En el presente artículo se definen los SBS como aplicaciones web que ayudan a almacenar, clasificar, organizar, describir y compartir información multiformato mediante enlaces a páginas web, blogs, imágenes, wikis, vídeos y podcasts de interés, destacando sus ventajas para favorecer el trabajo grupal. En concreto, se estudia Diigo y sus aportaciones como herramienta metacognitiva, que permite visibilizar el modo de aprender, pensar y elaborar el conocimiento que cada sujeto posee a partir de la información que selecciona, organiza y categoriza, incrementando su valor al compartirla. Facilita el aprendizaje y la investigación colaborativa, al compartir las etiquetas que describen los recursos convirtiéndolos en unidades valiosas. Propicia la cohexión de grupos de investigación mediante la navegación por la información referenciada y etiquetada por otros, a la que cualquiera puede suscribirse y reetiquetar incorporando otros matices. Favorece la gestión de la información recabada en diferentes fases de una investigación. En definitiva, propicia el trabajo colaborativo al unir las sinérgias de un determinado grupo de investigación, agilizando la difusión de ideas entre campos interdisciplinares y contribuyendo a la construcción colectiva del conocimiento.Web 2.0 has originated new applications, like the Social Bookmarking Systems (SBS) with remarkable socializing features, Rather than focusing on the relationship between users, it provides users with the necessary tools to manage and use information that can be later shared. In this article SBS are defined as web applications that can help to store, classify, organize, describe and share multi-format information through links to web sites, blogs, images, wikis, videos and podcasts of interest, emphasizing their advantages for supporting collaborative work. Specifically, Diigo and its contributions will be studied as a metacognitive tool wich makes visible the way each user learns, thinks and develops the knowledge obtained from the information he selects, organizes and categorizes, incrementing its value when sharing it. It facilitates collaborative learning and research through the sharing of tags that describe marked resources giving them high value. Diigo favours the research groups connection thanks to the browsing of the referenced information that has been tagged by others. Everybody can suscribe himself to that information, re-tagging it and adding new nuances. Also favours the information management in the different research phases. Ultimately, it propitiates the collaborative work thanks to the union of the different synergies of the members team, speeding the broadcast of the ideas between interdisciplinary fields and contributing to the collective knowledge development

A literature review of the use of Web 2.0 tools in Higher Education

This review focuses on the use of Web 2.0 tools in Higher Education. It provides a synthesis of the research literature in the field and a series of illustrative examples of how these tools are being used in learning and teaching. It draws out the perceived benefits that these new technologies appear to offer, and highlights some of the challenges and issues surrounding their use. The review forms the basis for a HE Academy funded project, ‘Peals in the Cloud’, which is exploring how Web 2.0 tools can be used to support evidence-based practices in learning and teaching. The project has also produced two in-depth case studies, which are reported elsewhere (Galley et al., 2010, Alevizou et al., 2010). The case studies focus on evaluation of a recently developed site for learning and teaching, Cloudworks, which harnesses Web 2.0 functionality to facilitate the sharing and discussion of educational practice. The case studies aim to explore to what extent the Web 2.0 affordances of the site are successfully promoting the sharing of ideas, as well as scholarly reflections, on learning and teaching

The role of Web 2.0 tools in collaborative learning

Web 2.0 is a debatable term and draws much argument. In spite of one’s opinion towards the term, Web 2.0 tools such as blogs, wikis, podcasts and RSS feeds are enormously used in learning environments. In this sense, the overall purpose of this research was to investigate potential of using different Web 2.0 tools in collaborative learning as well as their advantage. Four interviews have been conducted with the user of Web 2.0 tools and number of documents has been taken as empirical data to analysis what Web 2.0 tools are preferred to use in collaborative learning and what will be the advantages of using Web 2.0 tools in education. This research work represents a framework for Web 2.0 tools through the assembly of literature and empirical data which describe the course of action in learning and benefits of these tools