That's All Folks!

Over the past 6 weeks I have really enjoyed learning about the world of web 2.0. This course has certainly made me step out of my comfort zone and explore aspects of the World Wide Web I have either never come across or had sworn I would have nothing to do with! (Not mentioning any names...*cough* Twitter *cough*)

I feel that I have achieved my initial learning goals for this part of the course in understanding Web 2.0 and (slowly) becoming more 'tech savvy.' I have also had my skepticism over certain websites, such as Twitter, challenged. I have learned that, if used wisely, Twitter can be a useful tool not only in my social life but also in my career as an archivist as it enables me to 'follow' fellow archivists from around the world and keep up to date in the world of archives

Most of the tasks proved to be extremely interesting and involved websites and tools that I will certainly be using in the future, such as social bookmarking sites like Diigo, which has allowed me to organise my bookmarks via the use of tags, and Mendeley, a tool which I know will be most valuable when trying to find resources for future assignments. Other sites, such as Flickr have revealed a place where I can realise my creativity and share my love of photography. The task involving Flickr has shown me how to claim ownership for my work on the internet and prevent my photographs from being used commercially. 

I did struggle a bit throughout these tasks. Trying to grasp certain aspects and terms about web 2.0 proved a little too much for me at times! The concept of Mashups still completely baffles me and no matter how hard I try, I still can't seem to understand them. Technology also failed me at times, particularly the Billion Graves app which caused my phone to freeze constantly! 

I also found  it quite difficult to gather the courage to post comments on the blogs of my class mates- something which, in hindsight, I should have done more of over the last 6 weeks. I did however learn to communicate via different means like Twitter and my group's Google Doc.

It has indeed been quite a journey for me- going from knowing next to nothing about web 2.0 to becoming a fully fledged web 2.0 convert! I do plan on continuing my blog and always look forward to updating it- something that I never thought I'd say before doing this course!

It is rather sad that this aspect of ISYS1166 is over, however  it has opened my eyes and inspired me to continue exploring all that web 2.0 has to offer!