Week 12 readings

Weblogs are simply blogs (websites) that has grown full-bloom since the late 90s as a new way of communicating thoughts, opinions, ideas, resources and news. These blogs are updated individually with postings and entries which are dated and have headings with keywords. In this article by Reichardt and Harder, these authors address librarian science and technology, highlighting topics such as team and project management, reference, current awareness and currents events/issues, and the librarian whoi s a blog mentor for students. Basically, a blog is a replica of a paper diary, newspaper and/or address book in one. It is really a social software that surprises me in that is is free with an abundance of information. How can one get all this great information nothing? How can the creator of blogs offer all this information and pay so little for it? These are my muddiest points this week.

Wiki is an online encyclopedia used by many patrons which helps them make good choices and decisions in matters, in life. It is used to manage a library instruction program especially by librarians to manage their part. When you share knowledge, whether by dialogue/monologue, you are collaborating resources and obtaining better information that you and another have shared and put together, gaining a greater understanding at the end of the day. With Wiki, you can share information by editing text documents and by attaching files. Library instruction wikis are used to share knowledge and create resourses such as handouts and guides.

Creating the academic library folksonomy was quite interesting to read. Sometimes, I cannot find articles or documents that I have saved and cannot remember where I placed them electronically. So, this will be handy for me, personally, and will be handy as a future librarian. The gist of this article is to put social tags to work especially in the library. These tags allow one to create bookmarks (tags) for websites and categorically save them online. Sites like del.icio.us allow individuals to share tags for greater resources using the category headings. This collaboration is called "folksonomy" which was created by normal, everyday folk. The library is said to be a place for discovery. I feel I have the world at my fingertips when I am in the library. I can travel and make all kinds of discoveries in the library!

Lastly, I enjoyed the video "Jimmy Wales: How a ragtag band created Wikipedia". Wales, too, had a dream! His vision was to assemble legions of volunteer participation and contributors, giving them methods for collaborating. In this process, Wales created the self-organizing, multilingual encyclopedia of all times. This legion of volunteers was called "a ragtag band of volunteers" and are the web servers. Wales debunked negativity and stood on the premises of neutral points of view which was non-negotiable or non-debatable. Wales' video was easy to listen to and it was most humorous. He, too, had a dream which he fulfilled. It was interesting to learn that 2 million articles in languages are used by Wikipedia where only 1/3 is in english. The ragtag band keeps in close contact with each other constantly doing the bulk of this site. Wikipedia is listed in the top 50 websites and only costs $5k monthly.

Everyone enjoy a wonderful Thanksgiving Holiday!

Connie Williams

Corrections to Assignment 6

Good Afternoon MLIS 2600, Wan-Yin (TA), and Dr. Daqing He:

As I stated previously, I will have to make corrections to Assignment 6. Please consider it done!
My corrections to my images, etc., have been made; however, my URL is still the same at:

http://www.pitt.edu/~cjw39/

I pray this is sufficient for all to view. I enjoyed learning from this experience.

Connie

Assignment 6

I have completed my 2600 website; however, I have had much difficulty with this assignment. What I do have, I am submiting it now because it is past the due date. I appreciate all of the assistance, however, there is still something wrong. I did submit an attachment to Dr. He and to Wan-Yin (TA) to show that I did create the 4-page MLIS 2600 website and that I tried several, several times to upload it to the server @ Pitt. My information is uploaded, but there is still a problem. Prayerfully, I will figure this out before this week ends. All of this technology is new to me. I don't want to appear stupid, but this is all new to me. My bachelor's degree is not in Information Sciences so I am really trying to learn the new technologies that has been taught in this course for I have been employed in the Metropolitan Campus of Cuyahoga Community College for almost seven years. I see myself advancing in the library.

I thank Dr. He for his patience with me and I want him to know that "I am not giving up". I am determined to finish the Master of Library Information and Sciences Degree. Although there is a problem, my URL is below:

http://www.pitt.edu/~cjw39/

Everyone, have a pleasant evening.

Connie

Posting to Introduction to XML, etc.

After reading the four articles searched by Google Scholar, I learned that XML, or Extensible Markup Language is most commonly used via the World Wide Web. XML allows users to merge files to form compound documents, encode illustrations, provide processing control information to supporting programs and add editorial comments to a file. It describes the structure of a document. It is a formal language that can be used to pass information concerning parts of a document to another computer system. XML sets out to clearly identify boundaries in a document. This system is great for a computer to follow and to process. There is a start and end of each element of this file. I consider this a storage component used for transferring data to hardware/software components.

XML Schema is an XML-based alternative to DTD and describes the structure of a document as stated above. The schema defines the legal building blocks of an SML document. The schema is a W3C standard. An XML Schema defines elements and attributes that appear in a document, defines which elements are child elements, their order and number. It defines what is empty and include text. There is a XML Schema Tutorial for reference and for learning at http://www.w3schools.com/Schema/default.asp.

I would like to add that I had the priviledge and the opportunity of travelling from Cleveland to Pittsburgh to visit the campus of The University of Pittsburgh, Saturday, November 1, 2008 and to attend a 3-hour classroom setting for another course that I am taking this fall 2008 semester. Such beautiful architecture! I was amazed to see the large capacity of the campus and I was able to snap a couple of photos for my personal photo album.

Connie Williams

Assignment 3...I FINALLY DID IT!

As the cliche goes, "better late than never".

First, I thank Dr. He for allowing me to send in late assignments. I appreciate that.

I have been working on Assignment 3 for one month because I was determined to go to the end. Below, please find my URL for this assignment. Probably most of the Cohort 8.5 students are more advanced than I especially if you are an on-campus student. This is my first online curriculum and I have really been catching it. I live in Ohio and am unable to attend the campus. However, I FINALLY DID IT!

I am determined not to withdraw or drop-out. I am somewhat slower, but I am determined to finish this course. Now, I can continue with Assignment 6. I will be on campus this Saturday, November 1st, as mandated and I hope to meet Dr. He and Wan-Yin. Have a wonderful evening.

http://www.citeulike.org/user/Constancew/library

Most sincere,

Connie Williams

My Weekly Blog for week of 10-21-08

This is the week destined for HTML and Web Authoring Software. My comments on the required readings are thus:

W3schools HTML Tutorial was quite impressive as it easily shows you how to create your URL and begin your web page. I could not find webmonkey.wired.com; however, I will attempt to retrieve that article before this weekend. W3 School Cascading Style Sheet Tutorial was, also, impressive because it is just another format for creating a web page.

As for Beyond HTML: Developing and re-imagining library web guides..., the Georgia State University Library participated in a case study which has 30 web-based research guides developed by the subject liaison librarians there. This case study article covers the report on the content management system (CMS) they are utilizing, designed to manage these web-based research guides. As a result, this management system (CMS) met and exceeded the baseline expectations for the collection and management of content. This means "control" of the library website. However, this system (CMS) has not been adopted by academic libraries.

Have a great evening!

Connie Williams

My Virtual Shelves

I am pleased to say that I have COMPLETED Assignment 5, Virtual Shelves. Thank you for this experience. Once I understood the process, it was a piece of cake (for a change). Everyone have a pleasant evening. My URL is below:

http://pitt4.opacwc.liblime.com/cgi-bin/koha/opac-shelves.pl?viewshelf=17

Connie Williams

Last correction everyone!

LAST TIME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This has got to be the correct URL for my video.

http://screencast.com/users/cwilliams1/Folders/Jing/media/d33004cd-cac6-4b85-85a7-4677e129c973

I sure pray this works this time once and for all.

Connie

CORRECTION on my URL

Oops!

There is a correction on my URL. It is below:

http://screencast.com/t/rKvq61w71

Connie Williams

Connie's Blog

Well, Dr. He, per our email, I have once again attempted to work with Jing. I have captured my video pertaining to acquiring a computer and its benefits. I do not believe that my computer has a built-in microphone. However, the URL is below:

http://screencast.com/t/rKvq6/w71

It is 1:48am, Friday, and is well past my bedtime. Thank you for working with me.

Sincerely,

Connie Williams

Weekly posting, 10-07-08

It is quite amazing how things have changed in our society and how "stuff" works in our everyday living. In 1969, a great thing happened in our world...the "internet"! It is a global gathering of networks connecting and linking together in different ways, for different reasons. The name "internet" is derived from the words interconnected networks. The "internet" can do all sorts of "stuff" in the form of an infrastructure. It operates by an hierarchy and network access points (NAP). These networks cannot exist without access points, backbones, and routers whichmake communication available in a fraction of a second. The infrastructure also includes servers, ports, and hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP). Without this "stuff", there would be no "internet". Without the "internet", life would be primitive again. Though it has been said that the "internet" is not owned by anyone, however, it is monitored by The Internet Society. This group oversees the polices, principles, ethics, and protocols as we utilize the "internet" exclusively on a daily basis.

It was not meant to dismantle the Integrated Library Systems (ILS) as librarians fell in love with the web as a gateway to information. However, the web is in charge now. Librarians are dismantling systems by utilizing new modules and new technologies, merging the old "stuff" with the new "stuff".

The Brin and Page video was quite humorous! I enjoyed listening to these two brilliant young men who are co-founders of Google. Together, they explained as they presented the intermakings of Google, what it represents, and what it produces. Their descriptions, graphics, definitions were presented in lay terms whereby listening was made easy. Google is one of the best known search engines in the internet entity today. Personally, it is my favorite.

Connie Williams

Week 6 Required Readings

In sum, EbscoHost and Journal of Academic Librarianship are gateways to thousands of e-journals that are published and houses articles on its website for colleges and universities. The articles are presented for research and the researcher's findings. Articles are accessed expeditiously and are quite legit and thorough. Librarians can take control of their e-journals list with an electronic journals service (EJS). Therefore, information is or can be managed.

The RFID refers to "radio Frequency identifier" and consists of a computer chip and antenna. It is similar to a barcode that is read with electro-magnetics. These chips carry much information, and in the near future, will probably be much smaller, yet even more powerful. (As an example, the City of Cleveland where I currently reside apparently utilizes an RDID tag which captures a photo of a speeding automobile or vehicle in a certain area, during certain hours of the day. This RFID can capture the photo from several feet away! If your vehicle is photographed, the registered owner will receive a speeding ticket via postal mail which you are required to fulfill. You will find a similarity along the interstate highways as well!)

There are several common types of computer networks listed below:

• Personal Area Network (PAN)
• Local Area Network (LAN)
• Campus Area Network (CAM)
• Metropolitan Area Network (MAN)
• Wide Area Network (WAN)
• Global Area Network (GAN)

The most commonly used is the local area network utilized in homes, offices, hospitals, schools and the personal area network. However, since the 70s, high speed internet service has become a necessity. Grouping computers makes a computer network. Network topology makes reference to the way the network system interacts and relates, one with another. Two or more networks are classified as the internetwork. Bridges are the links we use to connect multiple network segments. A network design ranges from simplicity to complexity. The design can contain one or more links (bridges), photos, animation, coloring of text and coloring of the background.......according to the installer or creativitist.

The YouTube video was not too legible in sound and could not be heard fluently without chopping and breaking up.

Connie Williams

Assignment 3

I am so weary from trying so hard to complete Assignment 3. It is incomplete and probably incorrect, but I tried. I have two URLs:

http://www.citeulike.org/profile/cjw39/import_do
http://www.citeulike.org/user/cjw39

I am quite sure that I will have to redo this assignment, or complete it. It will probably say that there is nothing there even. I am only sending it in to show that I have attempted to complete assignment on time. Thank you, Dr. He, for your advice this afternoon. I was able to open Zotero and document, tag, etc. If it does not come out, I made a mistake somewhere. I will be in touch with you and with Wan. Have a wonderful evening. I'm leaving work now!

Connie

Week 5 - Multimedia Representation & Storage

After reading the required articles regarding data compression and its basics, I find Wikipedia to be quite informative on a layperson's level. Wikipedia defined "data compression" as an encoding of daa using less bits via specific encoding schemes. The sender and receiver must understand the scheme itself to use data compression. Compression means compact, in my words, and a reducing. Therefore, data compression reduces information, yet stores more. It is transferred in less time also as it stores more. It brings me back to the cliche that less is more. Data compression requires trade-offs in order to compress and decompress data.

Data compression basics on media does not require information theory, mathematics, or even programming. I learned that binary digits were bits. Information that is guaranteed (the same as its originality) is termed "lossless". Unguaranteed information (a wanna-be or a to be original text) is termed "lossy".

A new term for me from these articles is "run-length encoding". I think the breakdown of it is kind of simple and I see that sequence is unimportant here.

The last two articles could not be assessed; those pages could not be found as my personal laptop froze last night as I was in the Pitt Portal and Course Web. I was unable to submit this blog last night.

Have a pleasant weekend Cohort 8.5, Dr. He, and Wan (TA)

Connie Williams

Connie's Blog

It was interesting to read "Information Format Trends: Content, Not Containers (2004)". It made me aware of the 2003, five-year information format trends and that there will be changes and challenges in its publication. It stated that "format" was not as important as "context or information" within containers. Within the next five-years, the top trends will change regarding legitimacy of publishings, expansion of economics (microcontent), refurbishing the old into the new, and the multimedia content being made an array for all people and portable devices. I'd like to add that this is my first experience with an online class and my first semester as a grad student. Thank you for tolerating me. I probably will have several stupid questions, some
fear(s) and anxiety; but, much hope and faith that we all be successful in our endeavors at PITT. Have a wonderful holiday weekend!
-Connie